


A Single Moment

by Insert_Valid_Author_Name



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-07 07:40:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 107,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12836439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Insert_Valid_Author_Name/pseuds/Insert_Valid_Author_Name
Summary: Also on Fanfiction.net. A single moment can redefine history. An action can have serious repercussions. A new emotion can raise a hero. And true love can drive a man to destiny. Naruto Uzumaki, adopted son of Anko Mitarashi will never know what could've been - but he'll strive to be the best he can anyways. AU, RinneganNaruto, Naruto/Fuu.





	1. The Childhood of Naruto Uzumaki

Arc I – The Times before Seven

**...ooOoo...**

“This is a complete audio recording of the interrogation of Konoha ninja Naruto Uzumaki, age 16, registration number 012607. Interrogation to be done by Konoha Jonin Inoichi Yamanaka, mental interrogator of the Konoha ANBU Torture and Interrogation Unit. Let it be known the subject in question has volunteered for this method of interrogation.”

Inoichi clears his throat. “Alright Naruto,” he says, “before we start, I would like to know how you knew about this method of interrogation and why chose it.”

“I knew about it because my mom told me about it. Your daughter, Ino, confirmed the existence of the Jutsu two days ago,” says Naruto. “I understand that this is a Yamanaka hidden Jutsu, but I think that it’s the only way to prove her innocence.”

“And why is that, Naruto?”

Naruto sighs, “It’s all in the details, sir. The whole thing is pretty confusing, so it’ll take a lot of explaining to do… and I don’t feel like talking that much.”

Inoichi chuckles. “I suppose you’re right. And please, haven’t I told you to call me Inoichi? It’s not our first session, you know.”

“Those were to get my psychological profile, you weren’t getting a front-row seat to ‘The Life and Lies of Naruto Uzumaki.’”

Inoichi laughs, “You’re right, of course, but there’s not much of a difference. You can relax. Everything will turn out the way it should.”

“Thank you, Inoichi.”

Inoichi is heard fidgeting in his chair for a moment. “Now then, before we start I want to explain something real quick. The Jutsu I’m about to use will allow me to enter your mind and view your memories as if I was there. The problem is that I can’t go straight to the memory we want to see – I have to go back _before_ the memory in question and work my way from there.”

“Ino explained as much.”

“And you agree to it? Please state your answer verbally for the recording.”

“I do.”

“In that case, let’s start with something easy – a memory from your childhood. You can try and guide me if you want, but I’ll know if you try and block me. If you do, I’ll assume that it’s something relating to the crime and force my way through, do you understand?”

“I do.”

“Good. Let’s begin. _Ninja Art: Memory Window Jutsu!_ ”

A moment of silence. “Naruto, you have to let me in.”

“Hmm? Oh, sorry, it’s the glasses, they have protection seals on them. Alright, go ahead, it should work now.”

“ _Ninja Art: Memory Window Jutsu!_ ”

**…ooOoo…**

“Get back here, demon!”

“Get him!”

 _Run, you dummy, run!_ Seven-year-old Naruto Uzumaki panted as he sprinted away from the mob chasing him. He didn’t understand why the villagers were chasing him – he wanted to enjoy the Kyuubi festival too (it was his birthday after all!), so for the first time in his life he ignored what Old-man-Hokage had told him and tried to enjoy himself. As soon as he stepped into the streets however, he was recognized by some drunk villagers, and the chase began. If it had been any other day, his chest would’ve puffed out in pride – he was the future Hokage after all – but now it was huffing _and_ puffing in terror. This had never happened before, he should’ve listened to the old man, oh gods, he was going to _die_ -

He shook his head, clearing his thoughts as he ran. If he kept thinking like that he _would_ die. The mob had been chasing him for nearly thirty minutes, and they didn’t look like they were going to stop any time soon. Which was strange just in itself – while he had been chased by kids or a small group of adults, Naruto was always quick to spot two Konoha ANBU stepping in to avoid things from escalating. Looking back as he turned a corner, he noticed that the villagers were getting closer and getting ready to throw things-

_Wham!_

Naruto bounced off from the impact, landing painfully on the ground. Looking up, he saw a violet-haired woman dressed in a full mesh body suit, dark orange skirt and a tan overcoat standing there with a surprised expression on her face as she looked at him. However, the expression quickly turned into one of anger, and Naruto trembled in fear when he spotted the Konoha headband she wore – she was a ninja.

“Watch where you’re going, brat!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

“Oh you better be, that was my last bit of dango!”

Wait, what?

Naruto blinked in surprise at the last statement before he looked at the ground and spotted the food in question.

“Oh…” he blinked again as he stood, “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you-”

“There he is!”

Both Naruto and the Kunoichi turned at the angry voice. The younger boy paled as he saw the mob that had been chasing him turn the corner with cries of, “Get the demon!”

Naruto made to run away, but the ninja next to him grabbed his shoulder to prevent him from doing so. “Stop squirming, brat!” she said when he tried to break free, “I’m trying to help you! Summoning Jutsu!”

Naruto stopped his attempts to get away from the woman when the cloud of smoke dispersed and revealed a snake, but not just any snake – it was a pitch-black King Cobra the size of a boa constrictor. Just the sight of the monstrous snake was enough to stop the drunk mob.

The Kunoichi smiled. “Anyone want to touch the kid? You’ll have to go through _me_!” As if to emphasize the threat, the King Cobra seemed to rise until its head was looking down at the mob with a hungry gaze, spitting at the crowd when the Kunoichi said “me.”

“It’s the Snake Mistress! RUN!”

Naruto had never seen a crowd disperse so fast. A few seconds later, the snake disappeared in another cloud of smoke. Hearing laughter, he turned to look at the Kunoichi next to him.

“Did you see their faces?” she cried, clutching her sides as she laughed. “Oh, that so made my day!” She nearly fell to the ground, she was laughing so hard. When she calmed down, she heard two words that made her freeze.

“Thank you.”

She turned to the kid, who was looking at her with wide blue eyes and- _oh those whisker marks are so cuuuuuute!!!_

Even the Snake Mistress of Konoha wasn’t immune to the boy’s charms. Bad enough that he had said ‘Thank you’ to her – it was an expression she seldom heard – and now he gives the puppy-eyed look, without even knowing!

The Kunoichi smirked at him. “No problem, kid… but you’re not off the hook!” She pointed at the forgotten ruined dango on the pavement. “You owe me for that!”

Naruto blinked for a moment. _It’s not ramen, but if she really likes it… besides, she helped me out!_ Naruto grinned at her, “Sure!” He held out his hand to her, “I’m Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage! What’s your name?”

Anko smiled back at him as she took his hand – she already knew who the brat was, of course, but even so she could stop herself from smiling at the kids’ enthusiasm. “Name’s Anko Mitarashi, kid,” she said as they started to walk. She was surprised when Naruto didn’t let go of her hand, merely shifting his grip so that they continued to hold hands as they continued to walk, giving the appearance of a mother and her child.

The comparison didn’t escape Anko, but before she could follow that train of thought she was distracted by Naruto’s excitement. “You’re a ninja right? That was so cool how you made that snake appear and scare them off! Even I was scared! How’d you do that?”

Anko smirked at him. “That…” she said, deciding to tease him, “is a secret ninja technique that I can’t tell you about unless you’re a ninja.” She couldn’t help but laugh at his crestfallen face. “But don’t worry, all you have to do is join the Academy and become a ninja! What are you, six, seven? You should be able to enroll in the academy about a year from now.”

Naruto looked indignant, “I’m seven! Today’s my birthday!”

Anko smiled at his reaction, “Whoa there! I didn’t mean to offend you! How about this, you can forget about buying me some dango, and I’ll buy you whatever you want as an apology and a birthday gift?”

Naruto’s eyes lit up, “Ramen!”

Anko nodded as they turned another corner, still holding hands – by now, Anko had forgotten about that minor tidbit. “Ramen it is, then,” she said, “And I know just the place…”

As they walked away, neither noticed the happy sigh from a certain old man that had been looking at the entire event.

**…ooOoo…**

“ _Release!”_

“Whoa, that was intense… and I didn’t even know the Old Man was there!”

“You get extra details through the use of the Jutsu. What happened after that?” Inoichi asks.

When Naruto speaks, it is obvious he is smiling. “We had dinner, of course. After we ate, she took me to the apartment the Old Man had given me, but it had been broken into. I wasn’t surprised, but Anko was furious. She invited me to spend the night over at _her_ apartment, and six months later Lord Hokage approved the adoption papers. It was the best birthday ever.”

“I remember that…” Inoichi says, “I was one of the councilmen that approved the move. I remember that Lord Hokage had banned the civilian council for that meeting – I think he knew that they wouldn’t approve.”

“They didn’t call him the professor for nothing.”

“No, they didn’t…” Inoichi sighs in remembrance before chuckling.

“What?” asks Naruto, amused.

“Oh, I’m just remembering how happy Anko was around that time. Poor bastards here in T&I didn’t know what hit them. Most of us were pretty surprised as well. ‘Motherhood’ and ‘Anko’ just didn’t fit together… but they did.”

“Good times, huh?”

“Indeed. So, are you ready?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“Alright then, let’s move on to the next important event of your life… _Ninja Art: Memory Window Jutsu!_ ”

**…ooOoo…**

“Hi!”

Surprised, a pink-haired ten-year-old looked up at one Naruto Uzumaki, who was smiling at her as he stood next to the table where she was having lunch. Naruto pointed at the empty seat to her. “Is this seat taken?” he asked.

Naruto had changed in the two years since he was adopted, with the most obvious of things being his growth and wardrobe. Instead of his white shirt, blue shorts, and ninja sandals, he had donned blue ninja pants, an orange long-sleeved t-shirt, black ninja sandals, and a grey trench coat, similar to the one his mother, Anko Mitarashi, wore.

The girl seemed to sit up straighter. “It’s reserved for Sasuke, my eternal love…but you can sit there!” she said, pointing at the empty bench across from her. Naruto shrugged and plopped down in the empty seat she had indicated.

“Thanks… everywhere else is full,” he said. “You’re Sakura, right? My name’s Naruto, please to meet you!”

Sakura nodded, “I know, we’re in the same class with Iruka-Sensei.” Sakura looked around before frowning. “Umm… there are some empty seats over there,” she said, pointing at a table where a group of boys of the same age were sitting.

Naruto scowled when he saw the table she was pointing at. “Nah, Sasuke’s sitting there,” he said.

Sakura stilled. “And what’s the problem with Sasuke?” she asked, her voice like steel.

Naruto frowned. Had it been any other time, he probably wouldn’t have noticed Sakura’s rising anger, but he had enough experience with his adoptive mother to recognize the signs.

He smiled at her. “The problem isn’t Sasuke, Sakura,” he said, trying to placate her, “It’s his fan girls.”

“So you’re jealous of him?”

“No way! With the way those girls hound him day and night?” Naruto shuddered theatrically – he just hoped that he wasn’t overdoing it. “That would be a nightmare come true… All the guys agree – I think even Sasuke said so too.”

Sakura blinked at the new information. She tried to speak again, “Sasuke doesn’t-”

“Oh he likes girls, Sakura – at least I think he does – but no guy likes girls chasing after you every single moment of their lives. Would you like it if I were to ask you out every time I wanted to?”

Sakura drew back as if offended. “Of course not!” she said, “You’re not Sasuke!”

“And if you didn’t like Sasuke, and he were to ask you out every day?”

“That would never happen, I would never betray Sasuke like that!”

Naruto groaned – why was it so hard for her to understand? “Sakura, you’re missing the point!” he said, throwing his arms out dramatically. “Just look at him, Sakura! Does it look like he’s enjoying the attention?”

Sakura glanced at the group. “Ino-pig’s there, so of course-”

“He’s not supposed to, Sakura, we’re training to be ninja, _we can’t_ _like the attention!_ ”

For once, this actually made Sakura pause, and internally, Naruto cheered at finally getting something into the pinkette’s head, even though he had no idea where _that_ came from.

After a few moments, Sakura spoke again. “So what you’re saying is that I can’t get his love the way I’ve doing?”

Naruto blinked. “Umm, that’s not-”

“That actually makes sense!”

“Huh?”

“I can’t ask him out if I’m not his friend first!” Sakura stood, pointing her fist to the air, “From now on, I shall try my best to get Sasuke’s love by being his friend – his best friend!” She pointed at Naruto, “And you’re going to help me!”

 _How did I end up like this?_ Naruto asked himself. “Uh, sure, whatever you say,” he said.

Sakura grinned and returned to her lunch. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at a table filled with the other boys in Iruka Sensei’s class, who were looking at him with hopeful glances. _Later,_ he mouthed at them with a shrug before looking back at Sakura and engaging her in conversation.

When lunch was over, Kiba Inuzuka nonchalantly walked up next to him. “How’d it go?” he asked, barely moving his lips.

Naruto sighed, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his trench coat. “Operation Fan-Girls-Away, phase 1, partial success” he said in the same way, “The idea’s been planted, let’s just hope Shino and Shikamaru’s plan works.”

Kiba scoffed. “Since does one of Shika’s plans fail?” he asked.

Naruto blinked and conceded.

**…ooOoo…**

“Care to elaborate on that?”

Naruto laughs. “You’re really getting interested in this Inoichi, should I be worried?”

Inoichi reciprocates Naruto’s laughter, “What can I say, it gets boring around here pretty quick. You can’t blame me for being curious. What was the plan?”

“The plan was to get rid of Sasuke’s fan girls by convincing them that acting like blood hounds wasn’t attractive. I mean, even the rest of us took pity on the guy. We chose Sakura because she was alone after fighting and splitting her friendship with Ino, so we figured that she’d be easier to convince.”

“And it worked?”

“To a certain extent. Sakura _did_ stop acting the way she did, but we could never convince the rest of the girls to stop following Sasuke, and by proxy, us. Funnily enough though, Sakura and I _did_ become pretty good friends after that – we’d been friends for a day before the Academy. A few months later, Sakura succeeded in becoming Sasuke’s friend.”

“And you? Team 7’s legacy hasn’t diminished over the years, so you must’ve been good friends with Sasuke as well.”

“I was. Mom had told me about how Sasuke had been orphaned in the Uchiha Massacre, so in a way I could relate to him. When Sakura became his friend, so did I.”

“You were never rivals or anything like that?”

“No, not really. We balanced each other out pretty well. Sasuke was good at genjutsu and taijutsu like most of the Uchiha clan, and I was better at being a general powerhouse and ninjutsu thanks to mom’s lessons. Sakura helped us both in theory and history, and she was even better at genjutsu and chakra control than Sasuke.”

“And so the infamous Haru-Uchi-Uzu trio was formed… you three had a tough road.”

“Yeah, we did. Things turned out right though, mostly thanks to Granny Tsunade.”

“What do you mean? Oh, you’re talking about Sasuke’s S-rank mission.”

“Yep. But that comes later.”

“You’re right. Let’s move on, shall we? _Ninja Art: Memory Window Jutsu!_ ”

**…ooOoo…**

“I’m sorry, Naruto… I have no choice but to fail you.”

The words registered in Naruto’s mind, and yet the boy couldn’t help but repeat them again and again in his mind. They were like hornets, stinging him again and again and causing him pain every single time.

And all because he couldn’t make a decent clone! All those days practicing with Sasuke and Sakura, trying to get his genjutsu clone to work and all for nothing! His henge was perfect, his taijutsu and his weapon training were flawless, his substitution technique was a little slow, but his stupid clones weren’t worth crap!

Dejected, he walked out of the academy classroom, not noticing the pensive look Mizuki shot at him. Neither he, his friends, nor his mother knew why his chakra control was so abysmal, but he had a suspicion that _his_ mother suspected something. Unfortunately, it wasn’t anything that she was telling him, since every time he would ask she would dodge the question in true Anko Mitarashi style: take him out for Dango and Ramen.

And like a true sucker, he would fall for it. Every single time.

Gods, his mother – what would she think? Naruto shrank at the idea of telling her that he had failed to graduate – just the disappointment was enough to make him cringe.

“Hey, Naruto!”

Looking around at the call, he spotted Sakura and Sasuke waiting for him, Konoha forehead protectors already on – at least Sakura did; Sasuke had probably stored it somewhere, since he wasn’t wearing it. All the graduating genin were outside with their families, while it looked like those that had failed had already left. Glancing around, he tried to subtly look for Anko, but was relieved after he remembered her apology in the morning – she wasn’t going to be able to pick him up. Something about investigating a traitor…

“Did you pass?” asked Sakura, excitement coloring her tone, “How did it go? What Jutsus did they asked you to perform?”

Naruto sighed, “Henge, substitution technique…”

When he didn’t elaborate, Sasuke frowned, “They asked for the clone technique, didn’t they?”

When Naruto nodded, Sakura gasped, “Oh, Naruto…”

“It’s fine, Sakura,” he said dejectedly, “I’ll just try again next year or something.”

“What if we talk to Iruka-Sensei?” asked Sakura, grasping at straws, “Maybe he can make an exception if you show them something else…”

“The Substitution, Transformation, and Clone techniques are essential to a Shinobi,” said Sasuke, “Iruka won’t retract his decision.”

“But what if he tries again tomorrow or something like that?” asked Sakura, “I mean, his technique has definitely improved compared to the _first_ time we saw his clone...” She turned to Naruto, “This one could at _least_ stand, right?” Behind her, Sasuke’s palm met his face.

Naruto glared, “You’re not helping, Sakura… and yes, yes it did.” He shook his head, sighing again, “But it doesn’t matter. Iruka-Sensei won’t pass me, I know that for sure. Heck, _I_ wouldn’t pass me.”

“What about your mom, what if she were to-?”

“That would pretty much defeat the whole purpose of the exam, wouldn’t it?” Naruto retorted, not letting her finish. “Besides, I want to pass on my own account, not because my mom decided to ‘talk’ to Iruka-Sensei.” Naruto shivered in disgust; his sensei would either end up with his mind broken or with that goofy smile that he _still_ didn’t understand, even after a year.

Sakura looked downcast, “I’m sorry, I’m just trying to help…”

Naruto smiled at her. “Thanks, Sakura,” he said, truly meaning it, “You to, Sasuke.” Even though the brooding boy hadn’t said much, the fact that he was still here in support was enough for Naruto.

Sasuke inclined his head with an “Hmph” sound. The guy had a way with words. Sakura for her part smiled gently at him.

“What are you going to do then?” asked Sakura.

Naruto frowned, “I think I’m going to go home. There’s not much I can do about it know – might as well make sure that my mom’s the first to hear the news.”

“Are you going to be ok?” asked Sakura.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll see you guys later.” With that, he turned and walked away.

Sakura looked like she was going to follow him, but found herself held back by Sasuke. At any other time, she probably would’ve been flustered – Sasuke rarely initiated contact with someone after all – but now was not the time for such things. “Leave him,” he said, “he needs to be alone for a while. He’ll be fine.”

Sakura looked back at Naruto. “I hope you’re right,” she said.

**…ooOoo…**

“You shouldn’t be too hard on yourself,” Mizuki was telling him. The teacher’s assistant had caught up to him a few minutes after he had left the academy, and the two were now sitting on one of the many rooftops of Konoha, looking at the sunset. Mizuki continued, “Iruka’s only trying to help you in his own way.”

“I know, I know,” said Naruto, “I don’t really blame him. It’s like I told Sakura earlier, I would’ve failed myself if I had been the examiner.”

Mizuki laughed. “Would you really?” he asked.

“Well, yeah,” Naruto said like it was obvious, “Those three jutsu are essential to a ninja’s repertoire – they’re the most important tools to a Shinobi. Or something like that… I don’t really remember everything Sasuke said about that.”

“Well, he’s right,” said Mizuki, “Even though they’re labeled as E-rank jutsus, just substitution alone has saved many lives, especially during the nine-tailed fox attack.”

Naruto was confused, and he said so. “What does the bijuu have anything to do with this?” he asked.

“Well,” said Mizuki, “in a way, it’s what makes Iruka so heavy about you learning those three techniques. He lost his parents during the attack, you see, so he feels that he needs to prepare you as much as he can before sending you out on the field.”

Naruto nodded, “That makes sense, I guess. Still, there isn’t much I can do about it now. Guess I’ll have to try again next year.”

Mizuki looked away, muttering, “You do have the maturity…”

Naruto looked back at him, “Did you say something?”

Mizuki pretended to shrug, “Oh, I was just thinking about the optional graduation exam.”

“Optional Graduation Exam?”

“Oh yes. Iruka probably wouldn’t tell this, but he’s usually been forced to pass potential students through a second graduation exam. I was just thinking you’ve been taking his decision with a lot of maturity, so it’s possible that I can give you the exam.”

“Really?” Naruto grinned. This was perfect! “You’d do that?”

Mizuki smiled, though inwardly he was cheering, “Sure I would. Tell you what, you pass the exam, and I’ll put in a good word for you with the Hokage.”

“Thanks, Mizuki-sensei!” said Naruto, standing up in his excitement, “Whoo-hoo! Look out, Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki’s going to be a ninja! I’m going to ace this exam, believe it!” Naruto paused for a moment, before looking at Mizuki chagrined. “So what am I doing again?” he asked.

Mizuki’s smile grew a tad sinister.

**…ooOoo…**

“Let’s see what’s in this scroll…” said Naruto, sitting down on the ground as he opened the Scroll Mizuki-sensei had told him to find. Getting comfortable, he started to read, “Multi-shadow clone Jutsu… another clone jutsu? Aww, man… wait, what?” He did a double take, reading the passage again. _Solid clones? That means it’s not a genjutsu! I can learn this jutsu!_ Naruto crowed inwardly, _Still, it wouldn’t hurt to see if I can find anything else in here…_

“Eight Trigrams sealing style…” Naruto quietly read to himself, “also known as the Reaper Death Seal, consists of two Four Symbol Seals. Can be used to seal creatures of immense power into living, human sacrifices. Labeled as Kinjutsu as the seal requires the caster’s death.” _Fuuinjutsu… this sounds like really heavy stuff, I’d better not try this out – not that I want to die anyways. I don’t even know that much about Sealing anyways, but it should be a good thing to learn. Iruka-sensei always said that sealing masters are pretty rare._ He made a mental note to learn a little about Sealing in the future.

He wanted to get to work, but in a way, he couldn’t help but continue reading. Still, he couldn’t help but frown at the next entry – it was the Kanji word for _Seal_. Shrugging, he placed his finger on the seal and channeled a little chakra into the seal. There was a poof of smoke, and when it cleared, Naruto was greeted with the sight of another scroll.

Groaning, Naruto reached over and picked it up, already dreading the read. Opening it, his eyes widened at the title – A _Summoning Contract_. Naruto grinned. His mom had signed one, the Snake contract to be exact, so he knew how handy it was to have a summon available. He noted the animal, and decided to look into it later. After all, he didn’t know the hand signs for the Summoning Jutsu anyways.

“Well,” he said, “Better get to work. I have to learn at least one technique by the time Mizuki-sensei gets here. Might as well try the Shadow Clone Jutsu.” Getting up from the ground, he rolled the massive scroll back up and formed a seal, closing his eyes and gathering his chakra. When he felt ready, he spoke, “Shadow Clone Jutsu!” There was a burst of smoke, and when Naruto opened his eyes, they widened at what he was seeing.

Hours later, one Iruka Umino found him battered, bruised, and generally tired from all the training.

“Naruto!” said Iruka, both relieved and angry, “What were you thinking?”

Naruto turned to look at him, and Iruka noted the general sense of triumph surrounding the boy. “Hey Iruka-Sensei!” he said, “I guess this means that the exam is over?”

Iruka blinked, not expecting the question. “Exam?” he asked confused. “Naruto, what are you talking about?”

“Don’t worry, Iruka-Sensei, I know all about the optional graduation exam!” he said, misinterpreting his teacher’s confusion, “Mizuki-sensei told me all about it, and I learned one technique from the scroll like he told me too! I tried to learn another one, but I don’t know the hand signs for a summoning jutsu or about sealing jutsu.”

 _Summoning and Fuuinjutsu?_ Iruka thought, dumbfounded. _Naruto, just what have you been up to? And what does Mizuki have anything to do with this?_ He looked at Naruto – _really_ looked at him this time. Apart from all the dirt, Naruto had a few bruises that Iruka recognized from sparring. His blue ninja pants were dirty, but Iruka noticed two new additions in the form of shin guards. His tan overcoat was dirty as well, and the long-sleeved shirt had seen better days, but mostly he looked pretty good.

 _Even though I know he’s adopted, there’s something in his expression that reminds me of Anko,_ Iruka thought to himself. _It doesn’t help that he dresses just like her. All that dirt though… has he been training out here all this time? But why would he steal the Scroll of Sealing?_

“Naruto, do you know what you’ve done?” asked Iruka, trying to remain stern – he needed to get to the bottom of this, after all.

By now, Naruto was starting to suspect that something was up, so he decided to stick to the truth. “Well, yeah!” he said, “I snuck into the Hokage’s tower and got this scroll, just like Mizuki-sensei told me too! He said that if I wanted to graduate, I needed to pass the second exam and learn a technique from the Scroll, and he even told me where to find it!”

 _Oh dear gods, it’s… it’s even worse that I’d thought._ Iruka could feel his face paling with every passing moment.

“Naruto, that’s the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing!” he said, “There are techniques in that scroll, _Forbidden_ techniques, that belong to this village and that other villages would _kill_ to have! There’s a reason why the First Hokage sealed those techniques away!” Iruka didn’t ask him how he even managed to get _close_ to the Scroll, as a part of him was afraid of the answer.

Naruto had been paling the more that Iruka spoke, reaching the same conclusion that Iruka had reached. “Why would Mizuki-sensei set me up?” he asked, holding the scroll close to him.

“Because I want power, and you were expendable.”

Both Naruto and Iruka whirled at the sound of Mizuki’s voice, and Iruka’s eyes widened at the sight of various kunai headed in their direction. “Naruto, look out!” he yelled, pushing the younger boy out of the way as he took the brunt of the hit.

“So you found our little hideaway, huh?” Mizuki stated from atop the tree branch he was perched on.

Iruka winced as he pulled out another kunai from his leg, “Mizuki! You bastard, I should’ve known! Naruto, don’t let Mizuki get that scroll! He used you to get all that power for himself!”

Naruto’s expression changed from confusion to determination – he wasn’t letting this prick get away with this!

“Naruto,” said Mizuki in a condescending voice, “He’s lying to you-”

“You’re the one who’s lying!” yelled Iruka angrily, but Mizuki ignored him.

“-and I’m the only one who’s never lied to you,” Mizuki continued, noticing Naruto’s look of confusion return, “In fact, they’ve all lied to you! Even the woman you call your mother lied to you!”

Iruka paled. “No, Mizuki, don’t do it!”

“What are you talking about?” asked Naruto, his confusion increasing, as well as his anger, “Don’t talk about my mom like that, you don’t even know her!”

“You see Naruto, it has to do with the Kyuubi’s attack twelve years ago,” Mizuki said, ignoring Naruto’s words again, “The Nine Tailed Fox is a demon of immense power, so powerful that a creature like that simply couldn’t be killed. So instead, the Fourth Hokage, decided to compromise – he would seal the demon away with a powerful jutsu into a sacrifice of his choosing. And he chose you, Naruto!”

Naruto went absolutely still.

“No!” Iruka yelled, “Naruto, you aren’t the fox!”

Mizuki laughed, “And who are you to talk, Iruka! When Naruto started the Academy, even _you_ saw him as the fox!” He looked back at Naruto, “Why do you think that everybody treated you with hate and anger, like they hated the fact that you were alive! Why do you think that you will never be accepted by this village!? It’s because the fox has taken over your body – _you are the Nine Tailed Fox that attacked our village and destroyed hundreds of lives!_ ”

Blue chakra started to emerge around Naruto – so powerful that it was visible. “No…” he said, not looking conscious about the fact that he was speaking, “No, no, NO!”

For a moment, Iruka could’ve sworn his eyes turned purple.

“Naruto…” Iruka said, remembering the Hokage’s words.

 _“He’s alone, and even though he doesn’t show it, he’s hurting for the family he doesn’t have…” Sarutobi looked out the window, lost in his memories. “Young Anko may have filled that void to an extent, but the pain, the confusion will always be there. That’s why ever since he was adopted, he hasn’t gotten into trouble as much as when he was younger.” Sarutobi looked at Iruka, “Tell me, Iruka, how would you feel if you were ignored every day of your life, even people even refused to acknowledge your existence? Even now, Anko Mitarashi may have an idea of the beauty of the deed she did by adopting Naruto, but she will never understand the long-term consequences of the good she has done for Naruto. All I ask is that you do the same – acknowledge him. Talk to him. Be his friend, but more importantly, his_ teacher _, Iruka.”_

Iruka was drawn out of his memories by the sound of wind whistling. Mizuki had drawn one of the massive Shuriken on his back and started to spin it. “Now, Naruto… die!” With those words, Mizuki threw the Shuriken, and Iruka’s eyes widened.

“Naruto look out!” he yelled, even as the boy tried to scramble away. Naruto threw out his hand, trying to shield himself, and Iruka threw himself into the Shuriken’s path of death. It was as if everything had slowed down – Naruto’s look of panic and fear, the shuriken seeming to halt for a moment-

And then it pierced Iruka’s back.

For a moment, Naruto was confused – why wasn’t he dead? But then he heard a cough above him and something wet and warm land on his face, and he opened his eyes. They widened at the sight – Iruka-Sensei had taken the hit for him. Even Mizuki was surprised.

“Wha… Why?” Naruto asked.

Iruka took a shuddering breath. “Because…” he started, halting out of pain, “you and I are the same. When I lost my parents, no one seemed to care about me. They ignored me, they didn’t have time for me, so I tried to draw as much attention as I could by doing crazy things. I became the class clown, so my grades went down, and eventually everything just fell apart around me.” Naruto’s face was no longer dry, as Iruka’s tears of sadness and pain had started to fall on him.

“Ha!” Mizuki cried, “Don’t make me laugh! Iruka will say anything to take the scroll away from you! He hasn’t even told you the kicker – his parents died in the Kyuubi’s attack, remember!? You killed Iruka’s parents!”

This was the last straw for Naruto, and he immediately ran from the scene. He heard Iruka yell his name, but at the same time Naruto didn’t hear it – his thoughts, his mind were whirling a mile a minute with everything he had learned, and so he panicked and did the one thing his mind commanded him to do.

He ran away.

**…ooOoo…**

_“He did what!?”_

The Jounin scoffed, not recognizing the danger in front of him – he must’ve been newly promoted. “Didn’t you hear me?” he said, “That brat of yours stole the Scroll of Sealing from the Hogake’s tower. The Lord Hokage has issued an order to all Jounin to track the kid down and recover the scroll, including you.” The man chuckled, “Personally, I think the kid won’t even make it back – he might have an _accident_ on the way back, if you get maaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIII!!!!”

Anko made a mental note to try out this trick again soon – being bit in the balls by a snake, a _python_ to be exact, made men make the _loveliest_ of sounds. Anko smiled at the incapacitated jounin, who was still screaming in pain, the python still attached, and pulled out a knife, a _kunai_.

“Listen, asshole,” said Anko, her smile still on her face, “I don’t give a shit about how much pain you’re in right now – it’ll be the _least_ of your worries if a single _hair_ on Naruto is harmed. The only reason your balls are still _attached_ is because I have to find my son and beat the crap out of him for pulling this off and I don’t have the time to actually _pull your balls off with a frozen spoon._ That and you’re not worth my time, neither mine _nor_ my original me. Spread the word – Naruto gets harmed, the Snake Mistress of Konoha is going to be on your asses like white on rice.”

With that, the clone dispelled. Miles away, Anko Mitarashi scowled – that was the _fifth_ asshole that thought that they could get away with trying to burn Naruto in front of her. Seriously, what the hell happened to this generation that made them so _stupid_? Did their parents drop them when they were kids or something?

Anko shook her head – who cared about them anyways, when Naruto, _her Naruto_ was in danger? At this point she was going to go crazy(er) from all the worry the blonde-haired brat had put her through tonight alone.

Unfortunately, she had no idea where he was. The first place she had thought of was the Hokage Monument, but upon arriving it was painfully obvious that no one had been there in the past few days. That was when she had decided to make the clones and scatter them throughout the village, but so far, she hadn’t been lucky.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, she had a backup plan. The problem was that the price for asking a certain individual for help was high, even for Anko. Not because she didn’t like him – on the contrary, in the past she would’ve killed to be given a chance like this. Now, however, motherhood had forced her to mature, so she was above things like that. Motherhood had made her both more violent and yet more serene. Yet, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

 _Oh, Naruto…_ she thought, _the things I do for you._ She shook her head – honestly, she had no idea as to what to do with her son when she found him. Sure, punishment was appropriate, but another part of Anko could help but feel proud of him – it wasn’t some random ninja who snuck into the Hokage’s tower and made off with the Sacred Scroll of Sealing, it was Naruto Uzumaki who did it and managed to avoid the ANBU forces and every single Jounin in Konoha afterwards.

 _But not for long,_ thought Anko, a lance of fear stabbing into her heart, _Dear Kami, please, don’t let some random guy find him… don’t let him get hurt._

It was that thought that made her decision – that and the memories of a _sixth_ clone dispelling after beating up another asshole for slandering Naruto. She grinned at the mental image received before changing directions in her run – she had a former ANBU to track down.

Funnily enough, it seemed as though the man himself had the same idea.

“You want to borrow Pakkun?”

Anko nodded. “To find Naruto before anyone else does, yes,” she said. “He’s in danger, Kakashi – the other jounin would harm him when or if they find him, and you _know_ they’ll just use the Scroll of Sealing as an excuse. You have to help me, Kakashi.” Anko leaned forward, giving the masked man a view of her cleavage. “Please?”

Kakashi closed his one visible eye and sighed. “There’s no need for that, Anko,” he said, “I’ll help. It’s why I was looking for _you._ Though I am a bit surprised that you thought that I _wouldn’t_ help.”

Anko smirked. “Oh, I knew you would help,” she said, “I make you too nervous for that. I was just giving you a chance.”

Kakashi shivered – that was close. “Still, you don’t mind if I get something out of this, do you?” he asked with his trademark smile.

Anko’s demeanor immediately changed before shaking her head. _For Naruto_ , she thought. “Fine,” she said, with a sigh, “what do you want?”

“Just for you to get a drink with later,” he said, “for old times’ sake.”

Anko blinked – she could do that. After all, all he wanted was a drink, but the request didn’t include what usually came after. Besides, she was a grown woman, not a slut. “I can do that,” she said. “So, Pakkun?”

Kakashi nodded, made a few hand signs she was familiar with, and with a small explosion, there stood (or sat, whichever) the pug tracker.

Anko immediately handed him one of Naruto’s shirts, “Can you find him?”

Pakkun took one whiff. “I’ve got his scent,” said the pug before he turned tail, “This way!”

**…ooOoo…**

He didn’t know how long he ran. Later, all he would remember were the trees becoming a blur beneath his hands and feet. When he finally stopped running, he felt as if hours had passed, he was so tired, both emotionally and physically.

“Finally…” he gasped as he leaned his back against a thick tree, “I can get some rest. That was crazy.” He slid down the tree’s length until he was sitting on the ground, the scroll held protectively in his arms.

 _Could it be true?_ Naruto thought as he started to recover, _Could the Nine-Tailed Fox really be sealed inside of me? It makes sense – all the looks, the hate… before mom, everything was just a mess._ Naruto remembered what he had read in the scroll. _The Reaper Death Seal requires the death of the caster to seal an immense being of power… The Fourth Hokage didn’t die in battle – he died protecting Konoha from the Kyuubi…_

Suddenly, the silence around him was shattered by a crash and two cries of pain. Naruto tensed, on edge once more as he attempted to peer from behind the tree.

“How did you know, Naruto?” came Iruka’s voice. The boy in question paled, “How did you know-” There was the sound of a small explosion, “-that I wasn’t Iruka?” Naruto realized what had happened – Mizuki had henged himself as Iruka-Sensei.

There was another small explosion. “Because I’m the real Iruka,” came his teacher’s labored voice.

Regardless of his doubts, Naruto couldn’t help but strain his ears to listen into the conversation. “Why?” asked Mizuki, “Why do you keep defending that blonde brat? You of all people should understand why he deserves to die! He slaughtered your entire family!”

Iruka sighed. “Mizuki,” said Iruka, “You’re a Chūnin – you’re no fool. You _know_ that when a Kunai is sealed into a scroll, the scroll doesn’t become the knife. The Kyuubi is the Kunai, the knife, Mizuki, and Naruto is just the Scroll – he’s no more of a demon than I. So no matter what you do or what you say, you can’t convince me that he’s the Nine Tailed Fox. Besides, you’re still not getting your hands on that scroll.”

“As if you could stop me,” countered Mizuki, “Don’t you get it? Naruto’s just like me!”

Naruto unknowingly mirrored Iruka’s frown. “How’s that?” asked Iruka.

“He wants the scroll for his own power and his own vengeance,” said Mizuki. “That’s how beasts are, after all! He’ll pour all his rage into the scroll and destroy everything!”

There was a moment of silence, before Iruka spoke once more: “You’re right.”

Naruto’s eyes widened. Never would he have expected those two words to come out from Iruka’s mouth. It proved everything that Mizuki had said – his sensei, like most of the people in Konoha, thought that he was a beast, some kind of frea-

“That _is_ how beasts are,” Iruka continued, oblivious of the blond boy’s distress. “But that’s not who Naruto is. I remember when he was younger, how much trouble he would cause with those pranks of his. I remember how everyone would jump on him – but that only made him stronger. His mother’s helped him so much it’s astounding – he pours his whole being into improving himself. Because _that’s_ who he is – he’s Naruto Uzumaki, of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He’s the adopted son of Anko Mitarashi, Snake Mistress of Konoha. He’s the protégé of the Hokage himself. And he’s the village’s greatest hero simply because he protects us from the burden he carries – the Nine-Tailed Fox itself.”

Naruto was in shock, tears running down his face and onto the scroll in his arms. _Iruka-Sensei…_ he thought, _Thank you. Thank you for believing in me._

“Ha!” laughed Mizuki, “You really believe all that drivel? Oh Iruka, I _was_ going to save you for later, but after hearing all that… well, I’ve changed my mind.” The sound of a massive Shuriken being spun reached Naruto’s ears, and his eyes widened. “Goodbye, Iruka!”

“NO!”

The surprise on Mizuki’s face would be one of Naruto’s favorite memories for years to come. The Jinchūriki of the Nine Tailed Fox had managed to reach Mizuki just as the white-haired ninja started to throw his Shuriken and had blocked it with a single Kunai, stopping its spin. He immediately followed up with a right cross to Mizuki’s face, sending the ninja careening to the floor a few feet away.

“Impressive,” said Mizuki once he’d pushed himself up onto his arms, “for a little punk.”

Naruto slung the scroll over his shoulder and looked down at Mizuki, his blue eyes cold and his hands in the pockets of his coat. “If you ever lay a hand on my Sensei ever again,” he said, “ _I will kill you._ ”

Mizuki scoffed, ignoring his instincts that warned him of danger and stood. “Such big words,” he said, “but can you back them up? I can destroy you with a single move!”

Naruto smirked. “And I’ll return them to you a thousand-fold, fool.”

“Then _show me what you can do, Nine Tailed Fox!”_

Naruto’s grin became feral. “With pleasure,” he said, placing his hands in a seal. “ _Ninja Art: Shadow Clone Jutsu!_ ”

There was a massive explosion of smoke, and when it cleared it revealed twenty perfectly formed clones surrounding Mizuki. Both of the Chūnin were wide-eyed at the implications – Illusions were one thing, but solid clones were on a whole other level. Naruto Uzumaki had mastered an extremely complicated jutsu in the span of a few hours, and looked like he could still dish out more.

Mizuki started to panic, and as one the clones smiled and drew out two kunai each. They started to spin the Kunai in opposite directions in one hand, creating a hypnotizing sound – a trick Mizuki had seen Anko Mitarashi use to intimidate others.

The problem was that it worked.

“So,” said Mizuki, stupidly trying to bait Naruto, “taking lessons from that whore of a mother you have? After all, you two are so similar-”

BA- _crack_!

Mizuki flew forward from the intense blow to the back, and when he tried to pick himself up he howled in agony – his hands and feet had been stabbed into the ground, preventing movement. Looking up, another set of feet entered his vision – a final Naruto clone that had remained hidden behind Mizuki. And its expression was mirrored by its brethren – pure, absolute _rage_ and _hate._

“I can take jabs at myself,” Naruto said, his voice sending shivers of terror down Mizuki’s spine. “I can understand that. I can see my Sensei be beat down – nobody’s perfect and anyone can be surprised. But insulting my mother…” Naruto’s eyes darkened. “You just crossed the line.”

And as the clones started to approach Mizuki and the Chūnin started to scream in terror, Iruka smiled. _Yep,_ he thought to himself, _you deserve it Mizuki._

**…ooOoo…**

One extremely severe and painful beating later, an unrepentant Naruto stood over Mizuki’s unconscious form. The Chūnin’s body – if he even _deserved_ the title – was littered with bruises and deep cuts, with a couple of teeth laying around nearby. Iruka glanced at the unmoving Mizuki from his position and shivered – who knew that Naruto could be so _imaginative_ in his use of Kunai?

Then again, he _had_ been adopted by the Snake Mistress of Konoha.

“Don’t you think you got a little carried away?” asked Iruka.

“No,” came Naruto’s flat answer. “No one gets away insulting my mother. She’s done so much to help me… I know exactly how she feels when people talk like that behind her back.” Turning away from Mizuki and towards Iruka, Naruto suddenly gave a chagrined grin and rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry, Iruka-Sensei, are you alright?” he asked, bending over and tying Mizuki’s arms with some rope – where he got it from was beyond Iruka.

Iruka smiled. “Yeah,” he said, “I’m alright… Come here for a minute. I’ve got something for you.”

Frowning, Naruto moved forward and kneeled in front of his Sensei. “Close your eyes,” said Iruka, and when Naruto did so, Iruka reached towards his own Forehead Protector and took it off before turning to the side with a smile. He held it out, and a strong, feminine callused hand came out and took it.

Naruto meanwhile, was frowning. “Sensei, what’s going on?” he asked. When he felt something being placed on his forehead, he resisted the temptation of reaching up to find out what it was. “Sensei?” he asked.

“You can open your eyes, you little brat.”

Naruto’s eyes flew open at the familiar voice. “Mom?” he asked incredulously. Indeed, crouched next to his Sensei was Anko Mitarashi, his mother. She was smiling proudly at him, an expression mirrored by his teacher. Naruto flew forward and into her arms, relief crashing through his veins. “W-when did you get here?” asked Naruto, surprised.

“About a few minutes ago,” she said, separating from him and holding at arms length by the shoulders. “I saw the end of your fight with Mizuki… I’m so proud of you, Naruto, and not because of some measly fight.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

Iruka chuckled. “Haven’t you noticed?” he asked. “You passed, Naruto. Congratulations – you’re now a Genin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.”

Naruto’s eyes widened, and his hand flew to his forehead, feeling the metal plate attached to a blue cloth that was tied around his head.

“B-but I thought-!”

“That you weren’t going to pass?” finished Iruka. “The only technique you couldn’t do was the clone, Naruto, and you’ve more than made that up with the Shadow Clone Jutsu. On top of that, you’ve proven your capabilities by ousting a traitor, fighting and subduing him while protecting a valuable Scroll.” Iruka glanced at Anko. “I think he deserves graduating, eh Miss Mitarashi?”

Anko laughed – not the crazy, insane laugh of the Snake Mistress of Konoha, but the warm, love filled laugh of the mother of Naruto Uzumaki. “Oh, I’d say he deserves his graduation,” she said with a smile. However, the smile vanished and was replaced by a glare that sent shivers down her son’s spine. “You’re still in trouble, though.”

Naruto’s jaw dropped. “What!? Why!?”

Anko’s expression became pensive. “Let’s see – you snuck into the Hokage’s tower, you stole the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing, you’ve driven me bat-shit crazy with worry, and on top of that, _you broke your curfew!_ Yes young man, you’re definitely in trouble.”

Naruto was gobsmacked – of all of the things to be in trouble for, breaking curfew was the worst? Next to Anko, Iruka was politely looking away but his shoulders were shaking with restrained laughter.

Naruto groaned. “This is so unfair,” he said.

Anko rolled her eyes. “Welcome to the ninja world, brat,” she said, her voice carrying no venom whatsoever, only fondness. She glanced at Mizuki – who was either still unconscious or pretending to be out of sheer terror – before looking at the injured Iruka. “Well, we’ll discuss your punishment later,” she said, looking back at her son. Hugging him one last time before standing, she motioned for Naruto to do the same. “Honey, think you could make some clones to carry your Sensei and the traitor?” she asked.

Naruto smiled before making a single seal – the Clone Seal. “ _Shadow Clone Jutsu_!” With a poof of smoke, three clones made their appearance. Two moved over to Iruka, slinging his arms over their shoulders and picking him up while the other walked over to Mizuki and unceremoniously dumped him over his shoulder. Even with the small action, Naruto couldn’t help but feel proud of his accomplishment.

“Good job,” said Anko. “Now let’s get moving before someone else finds us – I’ve gotten threats from some of the other Jonin.” She scoffed as she drew a couple of Kunai, “Amateurs. Let’s go.”

With that, his mother jumped up and into the trees, hopping away from branch to branch. Scroll secured over his shoulder, Naruto and his clones followed with their cargo. Naruto wasn’t as fast as his mother, so in the end it was nearly ten minutes later when they were out of the training ground they had been in. Anko didn’t stop, running and jumping onto a nearby rooftop and heading towards the Hokage’s Tower.

There was a puff of smoke, and a second Anko was running next to her. “Naruto!” yelled the original, “Follow the clone and take Iruka to the hospital while we drop off the Scroll and the traitor at the Hokage’s Tower!”

“Yes mom!” answered the two clones and the original. After nodding his farewell to his Sensei, the clones carrying Iruka split off and followed his mother’s clone towards the hospital. Assured that they were in safe hands, Naruto continued following his mother.

Meanwhile, most of the Jonin- and Chūnin-ranked ninjas of Konoha were gathered in front of the Hokage’s tower.

“You mean no one can find Uzumaki?” asked one.

“It’s like he’s vanished!” answered another.

“We have to find him, we can’t let him get away with that scroll!”

“There’s no longer any need to worry.” The gathered ninjas turned at the voice of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage of Konohagakure, who was walking leisurely towards them with a smile and his pipe lit. “Everything has been taken care of. The Scroll is safe, and Naruto will be back soon.”

“Lord Hokage, who found the boy?” asked a Jonin. “Will he be punished?”

“No, he won’t,” said Sarutobi. “It seems as though things are more complicated than they seem.”

“What do you mean Lord Hokage? What happened?”

Sarutobi nodded at a spot above next to him. “Why don’t you ask him?” he suggested. Sure enough, a moment later, Anko, Naruto, and the clone carrying Mizuki landed in the designated spot and promptly kneeled.

Before any of the ninjas could protest at Mizuki’s condition, Sarutobi spoke. “Well Naruto? Could you explain what happened?”

Naruto nodded from his position. “Sure, Ol- uh, Lord Hokage,” he said, hoping no one noticed his slip of the tongue. “Mizuki tricked me into stealing the Scroll. Iruka-Sensei found me before Mizuki did, but was injured – my clones took him to the hospital already. Mizuki tried to take the Scroll from me, but I managed to surprise him and take him down.” Naruto unslung the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing from his shoulder and presented it to the Hokage. “I ask for your mercy, Lord Hokage – I’ve committed a crime against the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and as such deserve to be punished accordingly.”

Mixed reactions met his statement – his mother’s shoulders stiffened, while most of the Jonins either muttered their assent or gave no opinion whatsoever. Sarutobi for his part continued to smile down at Naruto before taking the Scroll.

“You have already atoned for your crime, Naruto Uzumaki,” he said, “by successfully preventing the Scroll from leaving the Village, and by apprehending the traitor Mizuki. You’re free to go. However, I want you to come to my office tomorrow or later today and submit a written account of the events.”

“Yes, Lord Hokage,” answered Naruto with a grateful smile. True, he wasn’t overly worried that the Old Man was going to condemn him or anything like that, but at the end of the day the Hokage had to put the village first.

“You’re dismissed,” said Sarutobi. “You as well, Miss Mitarashi – the same orders apply to you.”

“Of course, Lord Hokage,” said Anko as she and Naruto stood. Next to him, the clone carrying Mizuki dispelled, dumping the traitor onto the ground as it did so.

Naruto winced. “Oops,” he said, sounding completely unrepentant.

Sarutobi chuckled, and with that, Naruto and Anko left the same way they arrived even as the ninjas started to protest the Hokage’s decision. Ironically enough, all conversations were halted when Mizuki let out a groan and sat up.

“What happened?” he asked, rubbing his head. When he was met with silence, he opened his eyes and froze when he saw the Hokage standing in front of him.

Hiruzen wasn’t smiling anymore.

**…ooOoo…**

“Ah, good times,” Naruto says.

“How so?” asks Inoichi.

“They were simpler,” came the answer. “Not as much fighting, no threats of war, that kind of thing.” Naruto sighs. “Still, I have to admit that I don’t regret a single thing – I’d do everything the exact same way.”

“That’s mature of you,” comments Inoichi. There is a sound of cloth rustling against skin, followed by the scraping of a chair against a stone floor. “Well, it’s late, and prolonged use of the Jutsu would be harmful to the both of us. We’ll finish this tomorrow.”

“But the trial’s in three days!” Naruto protested. “What we saw today was just me becoming a ninja and it took us over four hours to cover that! How are we going to cover almost three years’ worth of memories in a day?”

“We’re not,” said Inoichi, “but you will. You’ll have to relive the events yourself, starting from where we stopped. In the meantime you’ll stay here while you do that – we can’t risk any mental tampering. Are you in agreement?”

I sigh is heard. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. In that case, I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Naruto.”

A metallic door is heard opening and closing, and Naruto sighs as he too stands. “Huh… he left the recorder… might as well use it.” Various sounds make their mark before the distinctive sound of springs and a mattress stretching are heard. “Ok, so where do I start… after my impromptu graduation, I rested during the weekend, and on Monday, I went back to the Academy to formerly become a part of Team 7…”

**…ooOoo…**


	2. The Requiem of Team Seven

Arc I – The Times before Seven

**...ooOoo...**

The skies were shining, the birds were singing, the people were laughing happily, and our blonde-haired Shinobi hero was enjoying the day… by snoring it away.

A poem worthy of a Pulitzer award. Or whatever it was that was given to poems.

This of course, ended quickly when one of Naruto’s ears twitched. Immediately he flipped out of the futon bed he was laying on and stabbed the small rattlesnake that was approaching said bed with the intent to wake the boy up. Of course, since it never got there, the snake was forced to dispel – a Kunai to the head tended to ensure that type of result.

Naruto shook his head at his mother’s “alarm clock.” It had all started when the blonde wouldn’t wake up at the sound of the normal alarm clock, so Anko had come up with the idea of setting a small non-venomous Scarlet Snake on him to wake him up. It worked, of course, but some might complain that it was rather… radical. Then again, what Naruto now knew as the Kyuubi’s chakra tended to heal him before he’d even finish dressing – not that he knew that then – so it wasn’t like he was being injured much. To think that before Anko had adopted him he hadn’t been such a deep sleeper…

Shaking his head once more, Naruto glanced at the calendar and grinned. Today was the day that he was going to be assigned to a Genin team. Hopefully he’d be partnered with Sakura and Sasuke, but the rumors were that the best ninja and the best Kunoichi were usually partnered with the “dead last” of the class.

Thinking about his two friends made Naruto bite his lip in worry – he’d avoided them during the whole weekend, wanting to surprise the two with the fact that he graduated. The incident with Mizuki had been three days prior, on Friday – today was Monday. Granted, he a valid excuse, as the day after his impromptu graduation, Naruto had collapsed into his bed and slept all the way till Sunday – according to his mother, he’d exhausted his chakra reserves out of sheer stress and training. And when he woke up he’d been forced to turn in his report to the Hokage, as well as take his photo for his ninja ID. Then he’d met Konohamaru, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s grandson, and things just went from there.

Yes, he’d had a busy weekend.

“Naruto!” came Anko’s voice, “Hurry up, you’re going to be late!”

“Coming mom!”

Nearly ten minutes later, Naruto emerged from his room in his classical ninja attire – blue ninja pants, white long-sleeved t-shirt, black ninja sandals, shin guards, and a grey trench coat on top of it all. The only difference today was the addition of his Hitae-Ate onto his forehead, proudly announcing his allegiance to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Not missing a beat, Naruto ducked the Kunai sent his way, countering with a knife of his own, which his mother proceeded to catch and use to cut some slices of bread. Task done, his mother flashed him an amused smile.

“Any slower and you’d be dead,” she said fondly.

“Nah, you wouldn’t kill me,” countered Naruto, “you’d miss me too much. Besides, your scarlet friend does a better job at getting rid of me than you do.”

“Uh-huh,” came the answer, “leave your coat on the floor again and we’ll see if I don’t get rid of you.” Turning, she placed a plate of their usual breakfast – rolled omelet, fermented beans, steamed rice and Miso soup – on the table. “Eat up.”

Naruto looked at her, surprised. “You’re not staying?” he asked.

“Sorry honey, but something’s popped up at T&I,” said Anko with a frown. Going around the table, she planted a kiss on Naruto’s cheek. “I wish I could drop you off at the Academy just because – it’s an important day for you after all – but this is pretty important.”

Naruto smiled at her. “It’s ok, mom,” he said, “I’ll tell you everything when you get back.”

Anko returned his smile before heading towards the door that led out of the apartment. “In that case, I better get moving,” she said, “Don’t forget to lock when you leave! Good luck, and bring your new teammates for lunch! Love you!”

With that, the door closed, and Naruto was left alone. Raising his chopsticks, he muttered an, “Itadakimasu” before digging into his meal. For once, however, his mind wasn’t on the food – rather, it was on the events that were to occur, his mother, his tenant…

Naruto winced at the reminder of _that_ conversation. His mother had confessed at knowing about the Kyuubi’s existence, something that at first had angered Naruto – why would she keep something like this from him? In his anger, Naruto had been reminded of what Mizuki had said – that his mother had lied to him, like the rest of the village, and he’d accused her of it.

_“You’re right, Naruto, I_ did _lie. I lied because the Hokage had classified the Kyuubi’s sealing as an S-rank secret, punishable by death. But more importantly, I lied because I love you, Naruto, and I couldn’t bear to place such a burden on you. I know that it hurt, not knowing, but I knew that knowing would’ve been much worse – you were too young. Now… now you’ve matured. You’ve grown. So much. And I’m proud of you – proud for protecting this village everyday of your life just by breathing. You are Naruto Uzumaki, Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, and you’re a hero. But more importantly,_ you are my son _, and I would_ never _hurt you intentionally without reason.”_

Yeah, he’d been angry, but those words were proof – proof that Mizuki was lying, that he wasn’t a demon, proof that every judgmental citizen in Konoha needed to have their heads checked. Naruto’s chest was filled with warmth at the memory, and he smiled softly – he was one lucky kid. He barely remembered his life before Anko had adopted him. Now, he had a mother that loved him, a grandfather figure that inspired him, and friends that respected him.

Breakfast done, Naruto cleaned the dishes before brushing his teeth and leaving the apartment. A few blocks away from the building he was about to turn back – he’d forgotten to lock the door _again_ – but then he grinned before placing his hands in a seal.

_“Shadow Clone Jutsu!”_

A poof of smoke later, the shadow clone was headed back, and Naruto kept walking towards the academy, this time with his hands intertwined behind his head. Unfortunately, he was distracted once more when he was walking between two buildings. He noticed a cloth the same color of one of said buildings being held up by a pair of hands; worst still was the fact that the cloth didn’t make it to the bottom, so the “ambusher’s” feet were visible as well. Naruto sighed, and immediately the cloth was dropped.

“You’re mine Naruto!” yelled Konohamaru Sarutobi, charging at the blonde – only to trip over the same cloth that he’d been hiding behind.

Naruto’s face was impassive, but inside he was snickering at the sound of the boy’s face hitting the ground. "What do you think you’re doing, Konohamaru?” asked Naruto.

“That was a slick move, Naruto,” said the boy, ignoring the question. “That why I respect you as a rival.”

A moment of silence. “But I didn’t do anything,” said Naruto.

Konohamaru stood and placed his hands in a seal. “All right, then fight me fair and square!”

“Can’t,” said Naruto, “I’ve got an orientation.”

Konohamaru’s eyes widened. “Orientation?” he asked.

“Yeah,” answered Naruto with a grin, “I’m getting my team assignment, because as of today, I’m a ninja, believe it!”

Somehow, the younger boys eyes widened further at the sight of the Hitae-Ate on Naruto’s forehead. “Whoa…”

“Yep,” he said, “Which is why I have to go. See you later Konohamaru!” With that the blonde Shinobi walked away, leaving the boy in the street.

“See you later, boss!”

Naruto smiled. Somehow, he didn’t find Konohamaru’s presence annoying – if anything it reminded Naruto of how he used to be, how he used to act. Naruto shook his head in amusement before picking up the pace – he was cutting it close, but he’d make it to the Academy in time as long as nothing out of the norm happened.

As if mocking him, Murphy’s Law came into effect.

Naruto was drawn out of his thoughts by a strange rumbling. He looked around, confused and looking for a stampede large enough to make the noise when caught sight of a cloud of dust. He frowned, trying to get a clearer look while subtly digging into one of his coat’s pockets for a Kunai. The closer the dust cloud got, the more details he could pick out, like the pink and red colors on one side and what looked like blonde on the other…

Naruto’s eyes widened.

“Sakura, Ino, wait, stooooaaaAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

Typical. He didn’t know how, but somehow the few times – read: almost every day – that the two girls would manage to barrel him over he would be sent flying into the air. And every time that it happened, it was always in a different direction. He’d fallen into Training Ground 44 once, and that was in the opposite direction of the Academy – needless to say, he hadn’t shown up for class that day. So, like every other time he’d flown by Fangirl Airlines, he hunkered down and started praying that he would land somewhere close by to the Academy.

One crash and cloud of dust later, Naruto picked himself up and started brushing himself off while looking around in surprise – fate was looking out for him that day, as he’d landed right in the Academy training grounds.

“Thank Kami,” he said out loud, “I don’t think I could’ve handled another trip into the Forest of Death.”

Shaking his head, he walked around the academy building before spotting his classroom window, which was thankfully open. Grinning, he jumped up, grabbed hold of the railing and slung himself up and through the window, landing next to an occupied desk.

Said occupant glanced at him before returning his gaze to the front, only to make a double take.

“Naruto!?” asked Sasuke, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

Naruto grinned at his friend. “I graduated,” he said simply, pointing at his headband, “Can’t you see? Open your eyes, Sasuke, this is a regulation headband!”

Sasuke blinked before shaking his head. “I’m not going to even ask,” he said. “Have you told Sakura yet?”

Naruto scoffed as he sat down next to his friend’s left side. “Nah, she was too busy running me over and competing with Ino over who gets here first.”

Sasuke snickered. “I still can’t believe that you’re always run over by those two,” he said, “Haven’t you tried going by another route or something?”

Naruto glared at him. “Yeah I have! Remember the time that I went to your house first? They ran us _both_ over that time!”

Of course, in that case they’d stopped – Ino to apologize to her “beloved” Sasuke while Sakura chewed Naruto out for tripping her over and making her look like a fangirl.

Sasuke shivered at the memory – Ino had insisted on hanging off of his arm the entire walk to the Academy while Sakura had glared at the both of them. “Point taken,” he said, before cocking his head to the side. “Speak of the devil…” he muttered, looking at the door to the classroom and prompting Naruto to do the same.

The rumbling had started again.

“Incoming!” yelled a random boy, and immediately the doorway was crowded with a bunch of girls trying to gain entry before any of the others, Ino included. There was pushing, hair-pulling, punching, screaming, all just to get to the one unoccupied seat next to Sasuke. Ironically, the seat was taken a few seconds later by a pink haired Kunoichi.

“Amateurs,” Sakura Haruno grinned at Sasuke.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “Hello Sakura,” he said, “You know, they seem more… rabid today.”

“For all intents and purposes, it’s our last day here,” she said. “Therefore it’s their last chance at sitting next to you – not that they’ll ever get that chance now.”

Naruto chuckled. “How’d you get passed them?”

Sakura’s eyes widened at the sight of the blonde Shinobi on Sasuke’s other side before she smiled. “Naruto!” she said. “You’re here! And you graduated! What happened? How’d you pass? Oh, and I used the second doorway to get in.”

Naruto smiled. “You’re right, they are amateurs,” he said. “And I graduated by learning another Clone technique to replace the Genjutsu Clone – the Shadow Clone Jutsu.”

“Shadow Clone?” asked Sakura, curiosity in her voice. “I’ve never heard of it before. Where’d you learn it?”

Naruto shook his head. “Not here,” he said, “I’ll tell you later. Blonde incoming, two o’clock.”

“Hey forehead!” came the voice of Ino Yamanaka. “You’re in my seat!”

“Beat it, Ino, I got here first!” said Sakura.

“Well, I was here before either of you, so it’s _my_ seat!” yelled another random Kunoichi. Unfortunately that was just the catalyst, as the room descended into chaos with most of the girls fighting over the seat, which was _still_ taken by Sakura. Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each other before shaking their heads – it was painfully obvious that most, if not all of the girls involved wouldn’t make it past their first mission if they didn’t change their way of thinking.

Sakura, ignoring most of the yelling of the various Kunoichi’s arguing over the seat, turned to Sasuke and Naruto. They talked about mostly trivial things – Anko’s reaction to Naruto’s failing, the pride Sakura’s parents had when Sakura came home with her headband, Sasuke’s stubbornness when it came to fun, and finally their team arrangements.

“I think I have an idea as to how we’re going to be placed,” said Sasuke.

Sakura looked surprised. “What do you mean?” she asked. “Isn’t that supposed to be a secret?”

Naruto gave Sasuke a curious look. “Yeah, how do you know?” he asked, “I mean, not even my mother would tell me, how do you know?”

It was here that Sasuke adopted an expression that was rarely worn by the Uchiha – embarrassment. “Well…” he cleared his throat. “I asked around, and well, being the last Uchiha and all, I figured that no one would really deny that information, you know? So I met this Kunoichi-”

“You _what!?_ ”

Sasuke winced. “Sakura, calm down!” he said, “It was nothing, just an innocent question! Anyways, she told me that-”

“Settle down, class!” Sasuke growled as he was interrupted once more, but this time by Iruka Umino. When everybody sat down and was quite, Iruka started to speak, “Before I give you your team assignments, I’d like to say something – a last piece of advice, if you will.

“As of today, you are all ninjas, and to get here you had to face difficult trials and hardships. But unfortunately, that’s nothing – what comes next will be far more difficult. Now, you are all only Genin, First Level Ninjas. As you all know, all the Genin will be grouped into three-man squads, and each squad will be led by a Jonin, an elite ninja.”

Behind Sakura, Ino grinned. “Well someone’s gonna be in Sasuke’s group,” she whispered to Sakura, “I wonder who?”

Sounding nonchalant, Sakura gave her answer, “I don’t know.” Internally however, she was screaming something along the lines of _Cha! I’m going to be with Sasuke, so stay away from him you hag!_

Even though she wasn’t a fangirl anymore, Sakura was still rather… possessive when it came to Sasuke. Not that the Uchiha knew, of course – somehow, she’d convinced him that she was protecting him from the fan girls. Which she did anyways, just for her own gain.

Meanwhile, Iruka kept talking. “We want each squad to have a balance of strengths and abilities, so that’s how we set them up. And now, I will now announce the squads. Squad One, consisting of…”

And so it went. Squad 1 was filled with Genin with civilian parents, as were squads 2 to 5. Squad 6 was still in circulation, so Iruka skipped to squad 7.

“Team Seven!” announced Iruka, “Sasuke Uchiha!”

Sasuke looked up, his gaze riveted on Iruka.

“Sakura Haruno!”

The pinkette gave an internal victory dance while grinning at Sasuke, even as Ino started to growl. Naruto crossed his fingers.

“And finally, Kiba…” Naruto slumped over, and Sakura and Sasuke were about to console him, when out of nowhere…

“Oh, sorry, never mind,” said Iruka, looking bashful, “My mistake. Team Seven’s final member is Naruto Uzumaki!”

Naruto gasped, even as a chorus of angels started to sing. He turned towards his friends – and now teammates – and grinned at them with a thumbs up. Sakura smiled back at him, while the normally stoic Sasuke spared him a victorious smile.

“Wait a second!” yelled Ino, “How does Naruto get to be in a squad with Sasuke!? He failed the graduation exam!”

Iruka gave her a deadpan stare. “No offence to Naruto, but that’s exactly why he’s being placed in Team Seven,” he said. The rest of the kids laughed, but Naruto brushed them off – he’d gotten a _way_ cooler graduation exam. “Sasuke and Sakura had the best scores of all the graduating students, but Naruto had the worst scores. So, to create a balanced team, we put the two best students, with the worst student. This is done in hopes of the two more advanced students helping out their comrade.

“Now, returning to squad assignments,” he said, “Team Eight: Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame. Team Nine is still in circulation, so we’ll skip to Team Ten: Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi. Those are all the squads, so after lunch you’ll meet your new Jonin Sensei, your new teacher. Until then, class dismissed.”

Immediately, everyone started to stand and look for their team members while heading out of the classroom. In the row behind them, Naruto snickered at the sounds of Ino and Shikamaru’s arguing – apparently the platinum blonde was still upset over the fact that she wasn’t in a team with her precious Sasuke.

“So, do we head outside, or do we stay here for lunch?” asked Sakura.

“Might as well head outside,” said Naruto, shrugging. “I mean, it’s not like we need to get to know each other, so I guess we can do whatever we want. Besides, my mom told me to bring my new teammates over for lunch – you guys up for it?”

Sasuke shrugged, as unemotional as ever. “Hm,” was all he said.

“Well, he agrees,” said Naruto. “Sakura?”

“Ok!” she said, “Where are we going, your apartment?”

Naruto shook his head. “Nah, Ichiraku’s closer,” he said. It wasn’t uncommon to see him and his mother having lunch there since it was the more convenient option for both of them – according to Anko it was closer to Konoha’s Interrogation Division than going home. There was a dango shop close by as well, so that helped with making both mother and son happy with the arrangement.

“Let’s go then,” said Sasuke, standing up. Naruto and Sakura did the same, following him out the classroom door and out of the Academy.

And yet, Team Seven was missing something.

**…ooOoo…**

“Hey Teuchi! Hi Ayame!” called Naruto as he stepped under the tarp that said _Ichiraku Ramen_.

“Naruto!” The old man grinned at seeing his favorite customer. “Haven’t seen you here for a few days. Where’ve you been?”

Naruto shrugged. “I’ve been busy,” he said, bashful. “I mean, I graduated last week you know. I’m a genin now, believe it!”

“So you are,” said an impressed Ayame. While Anko was Naruto’s adoptive mother, Ayame was his adoptive sister of sorts. “Congratulations, Naruto! You too, Sasuke, Sakura!”

“Thanks,” said Sakura with a smile. “We’ve been placed in the same team together. We’re just waiting for Miss Mitarashi to celebrate.”

“Oh really?” Teuchi asked. “Well, I guess the first bowls’ on the house then!”

“Oh, no, really, there’s no need-”

Teuchi held a hand up. “I insist, and there’s no changing my mind,” he said. Nodding at his daughter, they immediately got to work. “So what’ll it be?” he asked.

“Miso Ramen, for me please!” said Naruto.

“The same,” said Sasuke.

“I’m going to wait for your mom, Naruto,” said Sakura. “No offense, but…”

“You like Dango better than Ramen,” finished the blonde. “Don’t worry about it Sakura. I’m sure my mom’s on her way already!”

“She’s already here!” Naruto and his friends jumped at the sound of Anko Mitarashi’s voice, who laughed lightly at the reaction she caused. She was carrying two boxes from the Dango shop close by, one of which she handed to Sakura. “One order of Dango and red beans! I got it right this time, right?”

Sakura grinned. “Thank you, Miss Mitarashi, but you didn’t really have to-”

“Oh, there’s no need to worry,” she said, waving a dismissive hand. “Hello Teuchi, Ayame.” After greetings were exchanged, the four Shinobi sat down at the seats available at the stand. Anko was a little more than surprised when Naruto gave her the news.

“Get out of here!” she exclaimed. “All three of you were placed in the same team?”

“Yep, believe it!” exclaimed Naruto, “Pretty cool right?”

“Well, it certainly is convenient,” his mother admitted. “The fact that you three already know each other well, and that you’ve trained together as well gives you an element of teamwork other teams might not yet have. It’s probably one of the main reasons you three were placed together.”

“Iruka-Sensei said that the teams were assigned to balance out each other’s skills,” said Sakura, “but we’re Academy Level ninja, we don’t really have that many skills to begin with, how are we supposed to balance each other out?”

“Because you don’t have those skills yet,” said Anko. “I know for a fact that three Jutsu you’re tested on – the Replacement, the Clone, and the Transformation Jutsu – can be used to evaluate certain aspects of each ninja. For example, the Transformation Jutsu expresses the ninja’s attention to detail – the more attention the ninja pays to the object or person he or she is transforming into, the better that the Henge is.”

Sakura’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh, I get it!” she said. “So the Clone Jutsu evaluates Chakra control, and the Replacement Jutsu evaluates… what?”

“Creativity. Some ninja replace themselves with the common log. Others use chairs, rocks, and even other people. I for one replaced myself with one of my classmates’ pants – I was aiming for his desk. In the end it was a pretty embarrassing situation for everybody.” She chuckled along with the genin, before asking a question of her own. “So, who’s your new Sensei?”

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other. “We thought you would know,” said Sakura.

“Yeah, you’re a Jonin too, shouldn’t you know who our new teacher is?” added Naruto.

“Tokubetsu Jonin, Naruto,” Anko corrected him.

“What’s the difference?” asked Sasuke, speaking up for the first time.

“As you know, a Jonin is a generally highly-experienced shinobi with great individual skill who serve as military captains. Jonin usually have above average skills, like the ability to use at least two types of elemental chakra, some genjutsu, and above average taijutsu skills. Tokubetsu Jonin, however, are Shinobi who have Jonin-level skills only in a specialized area. In my case, I have specialized tracking and infiltration skills – basically, I’m Chūnin that’s good at spying.”

“Then why do you work at the T&I Division?” asked Sakura, confused. “That’s Torture and Interrogation, right?”

Anko shrugged. “I’m good at that too, and it helps that the pay is good. Besides, it’s in Konoha and doesn’t require any travel outside the village – a plus when you’re raising a brat.”

Naruto face vaulted off of his stool as his teammates snickered. “Anyways, being a Tokubetsu Jonin doesn’t give me full rights to information like that, since I’m still technically a Chūnin. So no, I don’t know who your Sensei will be,” she said. “I will say this though – I pity the poor bastard who gets saddled with you three.”

Anko snickered at the looks the three genin were giving her, something that Ayame and Teuchi mirrored, and the conversation moved from there. Eventually however, the younger Shinobi’s lunch hour ended and they were forced to part with Anko and began to walk back to the Academy. However, when they finally arrived they were called back.

“Naruto! Sasuke! Sakura!”

The three of them turned, their eyes landing on Naruto’s mother, who had an uncommonly serious expression on her face. “I just wanted to say one last thing,” she said, “Remember something – regardless of your graduation a few days ago, and no matter what happens after today, you are always, first and foremost, a team. You watch each other’s backs, and you trust each other to do so. You will train together, you will work together, you will bleed together – and if you do all of that, then I promise you that _you will_ _succeed together_. I see you three, and instead of three kids, I see second coming of the three Sages. You have potential, but only if you work together. In this world, there are no lone wolves – only packs. Am I understood?”

“Hai,” they chorused, and Anko smiled.

“Good,” she said, before giving them a sad smile. “You three will go far, I know it. Good luck.” Placing her hands in a seal, she vanished in a whirlwind of leaves.

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura stood there for a few moments before turning around and walking back into the academy, though with a more serious demeanor. They didn’t say a word as they did so either – not when they entered their classroom, not when they sat down, and not when the other students started to come in as well. It wasn’t until the first Jounin sensei came in to pick up their team that they actually made any sign of life.

“That was…” started Naruto.

“Enlightening?” suggested Sakura when he didn’t finish. “Inspiring? Encouraging?”

“Boring,” finished the blonde with a deadpan expression. When his two companions facepalmed, he smiled mischievously at their reactions before frowning. “Jokes aside though, she’s right,” he said.

“Mothers are always right,” said Sakura, and Naruto glared at her.

“Oh, you know what I mean,” he said.

“I do,” said Sakura with a nod. “Which is why I want to say that no matter what happens in the future, I promise to train my butt off every day so that I can protect the two of you from that terrible world out there.”

As another team left the room, Naruto looked like he’d been slapped while Sasuke just snickered. That is, of course, until Naruto gave them an evil smile.

“Well, I’m sure that dear _Sa-su-ke_ wouldn’t mind being saved by you, Sakura,” he said. The pink haired girl blushed while Sasuke glared. It was a rather taboo subject between the three that Sakura had – read: has – a major crush on her new teammate, but at the same time, it was rather obvious to Naruto that Sasuke felt the same way, even if the dark-haired Shinobi didn’t show it. It was rather ironic, he figured, that both liked the other and didn’t know about each other’s feelings.

Oh well, that just meant more fun for him.

“Shut up, Naruto,” said his teammates together, before glancing at each other in surprise. Sakura for her part blushed even harder while Sasuke just huffed.

_Oh yeah,_ thought Naruto, _they have it_ bad _for each other._ Smirking in success, the blonde leaned back in his chair as he and his teammates settled in for a wait.

**…ooOoo…**

Of course, they never expected to wait _this_ long.

“Where the heck _is_ he!?” snarled Naruto as he peered in both directions, his head stuck outside the classroom door.

“Don’t you think that if I knew, we’d have met by now?” retorted Sakura. “Come on, Naruto, just sit down already! Seriously, I haven’t seen you this hyperactive since we were younger!”

Naruto glared at her, closing the door behind him. “Can you blame me?” he asked. “We’ve been waiting for three hours. _Three hours!_ Even Sasuke’s irritated, look at him!”

Simultaneously, the blonde and pinkette glanced at their relaxed teammate, who was looking at Naruto with a raised eyebrow. “Naruto,” he said, “could you please shut up and take your turn?”

Naruto looked back at Sakura. “See?” he said, picking a card out of the hand in his hand. With a twitch of his wrist, he sent it spinning through the air like a shuriken, its flight stopped when one of the corners was embedded into the table where the rest of the ninja playing cards laid. Sakura sighed, picking the card up and putting it along with the rest of the discarded ones before throwing another back to Naruto from the deck. Naruto caught it and glanced at it once before grinning.

“I win!” he said, throwing all three cards in his hand at the table, where they smoothly landed face-up and showing a meld of three subsequent numbers of the same suite – the Jack, Queen and King of Spades.

Sakura groaned. “Ok, now I’m mad,” she said, throwing her remaining cards on the table. “Our sensei has taken so long that Naruto’s been able to beat us ten times in a row! Seriously, what is _up_ with that guy?”

Sasuke gave her a deadpan expression as he picked up the cards. “Well, it was _your_ idea,” he said, shuffling the cards and dealing them.

“Not helping, Sasuke.”

“Hm.”

“He’s right,” Naruto agreed.

“Shut up, Naruto.”

The blonde snickered as he removed one card from his hand, passing it to Sasuke and taking the one Sakura gave him. It was then when he _truly_ looked at his hand. He frowned.

_Not a single meld, not even with the King of Spades I got from Sakura…_

“Uh, guys?” said Sakura, “I don’t really believe in omens, but…” She shrugged before setting down _her entire hand_ – from the one to the nine of Hearts. The three members of team seven glanced at each other worriedly before looking at the classroom door as one – just as a gloved hand opened it from the outside.

The man who stepped in was definitely notable, with his spiky silver hair, face mask covering his jaw and mouth and forehead protector covering his left eye. The jounin was dressed in the standard ninja attire – blue shinobi pants and shirt with a Chūnin flak jacket, as well as ninja sandals and a utensil bag tied to his right leg.

The jounin’s only visible eye observed the three genin with a lazy gaze. After a few moments, he spoke: “My first impression of you three is… you’re alright.”

Naruto blinked, glancing at his comrades for their reactions. Sakura beamed at the praise, while Sasuke was… being Sasuke.

“Anyways, meet me on the Academy roof,” he said. “We’ll make our introductions up there.” With that, the man vanished in a swirl of leaves.

“All right!” said Naruto with a grin as he picked up the cards and sealed them back into the scroll he carried with him. “Come on guys, let’s go!”

“Naruto, wait!” Sakura yelled, but the blonde had already ran out of the classroom, coat billowing behind him. “Ugh, that idiot… he’s going in the wrong direction.”

“Serves him right,” said Sasuke. Standing, he opened one of the classroom windows and held out his hand. “After you,” he said. _What the hell am I doing!?_ he thought to himself.

“Why thank you, kind sir,” she said with a smile as she took his hand and jumped out the window. Internally, she was fighting back a blush while her mind screamed something along the lines of, _Such a gentleman!! Ka-ching, true love conquers all!!_

After Sasuke joined her, they walked around the Academy building, heading for the back wall where various hand- and footholds were carved into the wall. It was child’s play to quickly climb up to the roof so fast that to a civilian they would’ve looked like blurs. When they reached the top, they were greeted with the visage reading an orange book while leaning on the railing opposite them.

“Ah, there you are!” said their sensei while putting the book away. “But where’s your third member?”

Sakura rolled her eyes. “He’ll be here,” she said. As if waiting for her acknowledgement, the Uzumaki in question jumped over the same railing their Sensei was leaning on.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said, offering no explanation as to why he was late. Sakura and Sasuke glanced at each other with a smirk as Naruto joined them.

“It’s no problem,” said the jounin. “Now then, why don’t you introduce yourselves?”

Naruto blinked. “Umm, what should we say?” he asked.

“Well, your name, your likes, your dislikes, your hobbies, dreams, that sort of thing.”

“How about you go first so that we have an idea?” asked Sakura.

The Jounin shrugged. “Alright,” he said, “My name is Kakashi Hatake. What I like… I don’t feel like telling you that.” Naruto’s and Sakura’s expressions fell. “I don’t really dislike that many things. Hobbies… I don’t feel like telling you that either. As for dreams… hmm, I haven’t really thought about that.”

_Wow,_ thought Naruto, _the only useful thing we learned was his name… and I’m pretty sure that I’ve heard of him before. Maybe mom knows something…_

“So, now you know how to do it,” Kakashi said, “Now it’s your turn. How about you start, blondie?”

Naruto glared at him. “First of all, my name’s Naruto Uzumaki or Naruto Mitarashi, whichever suits the situation best,” he said. “I like a lot of things, but above all things I like Ramen and spending time with my friends and mother as well as training with them. Things that I don’t like include, but are not limited to sake, the three minutes it takes for instant Ramen to cook, and people that belittle others for no obvious reasons or stupid reasons. Hobbies… I guess training and spending time with my friends are my hobbies. Oh, and my gardening. My dream is to become the greatest ninja in the village by taking up the Hokage post, maybe as Godaime or Rukodaime.”

“Not bad goals,” said Kakashi. “How about you pinky?”

Like Naruto, Sakura glared at their Sensei. “My name is Sakura Haruno,” she said. “I like my friends and training, and I don’t like Ino Yamanaka and her attitude. I don’t really have that many hobbies, and my dream is to become the strongest Kunoichi in the village.” Sasuke didn’t know, but Naruto knew that what came next was, “ _so that I can impress a certain someone.”_

“Hmm… I can work with that,” said Kakashi before turning towards Sasuke. “And you?”

Sasuke had his eyes closed, his hands intertwined and covering his mouth. “My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like training with my friends, but I don’t like a lot of things. What I have is not a dream, because I _will_ make it a reality – I’m going to restore my clan.”

“Hmm…” was all Kakashi said. _Well, there’s no doubt that these three have their heads on straight. The Uchiha might have problems, but they seem to be balanced out with his teammates’ presence and friendship. I’m surprised though… one would think that revenge against Itachi would be a priority. If they pass the test, I have a feeling that these three will go far._ “Good,” said Kakashi, “you’re each unique and you have your own ideas. I can also tell that you three are used to working together – that’ll save us a lot of time when it comes to training. So, we’ll have our first mission tomorrow.”

Naruto grinned. “What kind of mission are we going to have, Kakashi-Sensei?” he asked.

“A task that the four of us will do together,” answered the Jonin. “A survival exercise.”

“A survival exercise?” asked Naruto confused.

“I thought we were going to have a real mission, not more practice” protested Sakura, “We already did these kind of things at the Academy, that’s why we’re here!”

“This is not like your previous training,” Kakashi refuted.

“Then what kind of training is it?” asked Naruto, but Kakashi chuckled.

“Well, you won’t like the answer,” he said, “You see, out of the twenty-seven graduates that managed to pass, only nine will be accepted as genin. The other eighteen will be weeded out and sent back to the Academy. In other words, this is a make-it or break-it, pass/fail test, and your chances of failure are of at least sixty-six percent.”

The three not-genin had varying reactions – Naruto’s jaw dropped, Sakura looked like she was going to be ill, and Sasuke… didn’t react much except for a twitch in his eye.

Kakashi chuckled at their reactions. “See?” he said, “I told you you wouldn’t like the answer.”

“Then what’s the graduation exam for?” asked Naruto, incredulous.

“Oh that? That was just to select the candidates that _might_ become genin,” said Kakashi, “or not. That’s how it is. I decide whether you pass or fail, so tomorrow be at the designated training area – training ground seven if you didn’t know – at five am, and bring your ninja gear.” With that, Kakashi turned to leave. “That’s it, your dismissed,” he said, but he turned around again. “Oh, I almost forgot. Tomorrow you better skip breakfast or else… you’ll puke.”

None of the three friends liked the sound of that.

**…ooOoo…**

“ _Kakashi Hatake!?_ Your Sensei is _Copy-Cat Kakashi!?_ ”

Naruto edged away from his mother, slightly nervous at her reaction. “Umm… is that bad?” he asked.

Anko ran a hand through her hair. “Depends on how you see it,” she said, “If you pass, there’s no doubt that you’ll learn a lot from him; even though the guy’s a lazy bastard that’s always late, he knows his stuff. On the other hand he’s known for failing prospective genin teams year after year – his test is… rougher than most.”

Naruto nodded, sitting down on the couch in the apartment’s living room. After Kakashi’s last bombshell regarding breakfast, all four (prospective) members of Team 7 had left with their own destination in mind. Naruto had arrived at the apartment he and his mother shared just an hour earlier, and Anko had been home for less than five minutes before she was asking him about his day.

“So our chances are low,” said Naruto, looking up at the ceiling dejectedly.

Anko glanced at him, unsure as to how much she should tell him. “Does it matter?” she finally settled for.

Naruto looked at her, confused. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“Does it matter that past teams have failed his test?” she elaborated as she sat down next to him.

Naruto frowned, returning his gaze to the ceiling. “No,” he decided. “If what you’re saying is true, then Kakashi-Sensei knew what he was doing when he was failing those teams. There must have been something he didn’t like in those teams, so he knew that if he passed them they might’ve died in the future. All that means is that we’ll have to work that much harder to pass his exam.”

Anko smiled. “Good,” she said. “As long as you keep that in mind, then the three of you should have no problems and tomorrow you’ll be official genin.”

Naruto returned her smile. “Thanks mom, I needed to hear that,” he said, before pausing. “Can I ask you something… personal?”

Anko frowned. “What do you want to know?” she asked.

“What was your genin exam like?” he asked. Anko flinched at the memory of her sensei, but she took a deep breath to calm herself down.

“You know I don’t like talking about my Sensei,” she said. One of the few rules that Anko had put down in their household was to never mention Orochimaru’s name. “But that being said, I didn’t have a genin exam. Sensei just chose me as his apprentice out of the different graduates. I don’t know what it was that he saw in me, but I was given an automatic pass anyways so I can’t really help with yours tomorrow.” Anko smiled, “Still, I don’t think that any help I could give you would matter – you’re going to pass with flying colors tomorrow.” She winked at him, “Believe it!”

Naruto laughed. “Thanks mom,” he said, smiling.

Anko returned his smile and leaned over, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Now, go get dinner ready,” she said, “If Kakashi said no breakfast, then you’ll have to compensate with a heavy dinner. And no Ramen, got it?”

“Yes, mom,” he said, rolling his eyes. Sure, he loved Ramen enough to eat if breakfast, lunch and dinner if he wanted to, but that didn’t mean that he was going to live off the godly food for the rest of his life.

After dinner, Naruto went into his room and started preparing for the next day. Grabbing a traveling bag, he filled it mostly with storage scrolls, all of which had kunai knives, shuriken, Demon Wing shuriken, ninja wire, and other types of ninja tools. He even had a small case filled with blue-colored soldier pills – something that he had gone through great lengths to obtain without his mother knowing. Finally, after a moments thought, he packed a set of ration bars – Kakashi said to bring their ninja gear to the survival exercise, so Naruto decided to abide to Murphy’s law: “If something can go wrong, it will. And if you count on this law, it won’t work.”

Bag ready, Naruto turned to his closet to get into his sleepwear when he was hit with a thought. Smirking pensively, he moved over to the wall next to the door, bit his thumb and pressed the bleeding appendage into a certain spot. With a small poof of smoke, a hidden compartment was revealed, with two curious objects laying within.

Naruto’s smirk became a grin. Oh, his Sensei had _no_ idea what he was in for tomorrow.

**…ooOoo…**

The next day, whether by coincidence or design, the three graduates arrived at training ground seven at the exact same time. Naruto glanced at his two teammates, noting that like he, they perfectly aware of their surroundings, watching the dark forests with wary eyes. He also noted Sakura’s slight discomfort as she shifted where she stood – signs of their lack of breakfast. Naruto moved his eyes to the dark sky as the birds started to sing, the sky started to lighten on the horizon. Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs, the blonde stood back to back to his teammates and waited for their Sensei.

And waited…

And waited…

And waited…

“Good morning, students! Ready for your first day?”

Immediately, 3 irritated gazes snapped over to the Jōnin, who was standing a few feet away with a smile on his face – at least, from what they could discern through the mask.

“You’re late,” Sakura grumbled.

Kakashi pointed behind him. “Well you see, a black cat crossed my path and I had to take the long away to get rid of the bad luck,” he said.

Judging from the deadpan expressions, neither of the three believed him.

Kakashi shrugged, uncaring, before motioning for them to follow him. After a few minutes of walking, they reached a small clearing with three training posts in the center. Kakashi immediately set an alarm clock on one of the stumps.

“Alright, it’s set for noon,” he said, before pulling out two small bells. “Your assignment is very simple – you just have to take these bells from me. That’s all there is to it. If you can’t get them by noon, you go without lunch; you’ll be tied to those posts and watch while I eat mine in front of you.” Here, he paused, as if expecting to hear three stomachs grumble. He narrowed his eyes, silently demanding an explanation, and Naruto guiltily looked down while holding the empty wrapper of a ration bar – disgusting, but good to have in a pinch.

Kakashi blinked in surprise. “And you shared with them?” he asked. Sasuke and Sakura nodded in affirmation. _Well,_ he thought, _they’ve unintentionally foiled one of the main parts of the exam by fulfilling one of the requirements beforehand…_ Kakashi then remembered that Naruto had been adopted by Anko. _Could she have told him what to expect?_

“Well, I have to admit that I’m impressed,” he said. “Not many people think on bringing that kind of things.”

“You did say it was a survival exercise,” said Naruto, “ _and_ to bring our ninja gear. You just didn’t say what kind.”

Kakashi smiled. “Good,” he said, “You’re already learning.”

Suddenly, Sakura’s head whipped up. “Wait a second,” said Sakura, “There’s three of us! How can there be only two bells?”

“Well at least that way, one of you will end up tied up to the post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission.” He jingled the bells mockingly. “That one goes back to the Academy.” Here, Sakura gasped while Naruto and Sasuke narrowed their eyes. “Then again, all three of you could end up flunking out and going back to the Academy. You’re allowed to use all of your tools, including Kunai and Shuriken. If you’re not prepared to kill me, then you won’t get the bells.” Kakashi then tied the bells to his belt. “When I say start, you can begin.” The three genin began to get ready, adjusting their clothes and checking their weapons pouches. “Start!”

At the command, the three kids disappeared, jumping away and hiding. For a few minutes, Kakashi just stood there, observing the forest.

“Well,” he said to himself, “it seems they have the hiding part- huh?” Kakashi turned at the arrival of one of the genin. Naruto grinned, leaning against a nearby tree.

“So, Kakashi-Sensei…,” he said, “how ‘bout we fight, just you and me?”

He held up his hands in a seal. Kakashi tensed, but relaxed upon seeing another shadow clone. “Maybe dinner for three?” asked the clone.

Kakashi blinked. _What the…?_

Another poof of smoke, another clone, but this one was holding his groin. “Dude, I really gotta pee!”

A fourth clone. “Well you can do that for free!” he said, punching the third and dispelling it.

Kakashi chuckled, amused. “Sorry, but for laughing you don’t get a freebie,” he said.

All the clones looked at him strangely. “This dude…” said one.

“He just can’t rhyme,” said another.

“Too bad, he’s cool.”

“Hey, I got what’s mine!”

Kakashi whirled in surprise as the real Naruto ran away, bells in hand. Kakashi checked his belt, and sure enough, the bells were gone.

Or, at least that’s what it looked like. Kakashi held up his hands in a handsign and said, “Kai!” With a flicker, the bells reappeared on his belt.

“You know, for a moment I thought that that actually worked,” said the Naruto holding the “bells” before dispelling, along with the rest of the clones. And the “original.”

Kakashi looked around. He realized that along with Naruto, Sasuke’s and Sakura’s chakra signals were long gone. All the clones had done was run interference so that his three students could actually get away.

The jounin smiled, before reaching into his pocket for a book and started to read.

**…ooOoo…**

About a mile away, Naruto arrived at a clearing where his two team mates were waiting crouched in the shadow of a large tree.

“Did he fall for it?”

Naruto shook his head. “Sort of,” he answered Sasuke. “I definitely managed to distract him, but he dispelled the Genjutsu almost immediately. Speaking of which…” he turned to Sakura. “Great job with that jutsu! Seriously, it took him about a second for him to notice that the bells were fake, which considering that he’s a jounin I think it’s a big deal!”

The Pinkette blushed. “Thanks,” she said, “I still need to practice though…”

“We all do,” said Sasuke. “But now at least we know that Genjutsu won’t work on him. You bought us time Naruto – now it’s my turn.”

“Naruto and I will back you up if anything happens,” said Sakura.

“What about the bells?” asked Naruto.

“Right, you weren’t here,” said Sakura in realization. “Well, Sasuke and I were thinking-”

“Have you ever heard of a three man team?” Sasuke interrupted her.

Naruto’s eyes widened in realization. “It’s a ploy to set us on each other!” he said. “But then what’s the objective?”

“That’s what we have to find out,” said Sakura, sending an irritated look at Sasuke for interrupting her.

“The only lead we have is that it involves the three of us fighting for those bells,” said Sasuke, “so that’s exactly what we’re going to do. We’ll spring his trap, slowly analyzing every aspect of him, and once we’re ready, we’ll take him down.”

“Right!” said Naruto. “Let’s go!”

The three genin stood, heading back to where Naruto’s clones had attempted to trick the jounin. They jumped from tree to tree and swinging from branch to branch until they had picked up so much speed they looked like blurs. After a few minutes of this, Naruto made a signal with his hand, and he and Sakura fell behind while Sasuke went on. Picking a good spot to see without being seen, Naruto and Sakura settled in for the wait.

Standing right at the edge of the foliage, Sasuke looked at the reading Kakashi whose back was to him.

_Well, he definitely hasn’t dropped his guard,_ he thought, _still, without Naruto there aren’t any distractions available… what?_ Sasuke looked closer at Kakashi and noticed that the jounin was giggling. _Has he spotted me? Is that why he’s laughing? Then why does he keep reading?_ Sasuke frowned. _Wait a second… is that… Make Out Paradise!? He’s not giggling because he saw me, he’s laughing at the book! Now’s my chance!_

The Uchiha immediately threw out a barrage of shuriken and kunai, angling them so that the weapons would strike the jounin from the side. However, none of the three genin expected for the blades to actually hit.

Sasuke’s jaw dropped in surprise at the sight of blood in the air, Kakashi’s body falling lifelessly to the side – only for there to be an explosion and a log landing in place of the body.

Sasuke immediately stood up and walked out into the open. _He never lowered his guard, he was just pretending to draw me out, and now he knows where I was hiding._ Sasuke smirked, hands in his pockets. _Well, the point was to fight him anyways. At least now I know that he’s constantly on guard._

“You know,” came Kakashi’s voice from behind Sasuke, “you really shouldn’t have your back to the enemy.”

Sasuke wiped his face of every emotion before turning around. He looked at Kakashi impassively, the jounin returning his gaze with his book back in his pouch. Suddenly, Sasuke reached into his weapons pouch and threw an assortment of shuriken at Kakashi. The jounin dodged, but quickly realized that the Uchiha had aimed not at him but at a tripwire behind him.

_I wonder when he set that trap…_ Kakashi was forced to jump out of the way again to dodge the weapons thrown at him by the trap, only this time he was engaged by Sasuke in hand-to-hand combat – Taijutsu. Sasuke came in with a kick, which was caught by Kakashi, but the boy followed up with a punch and another kick, leaving him airborne and upside down – and in reach of the bells.

_I got them!_ thought Sasuke as he reached out, but at the last moment, just when he touched them, Kakashi pulled away. Sasuke flipped himself and landed on his feet, gazing at his Sensei with a speculative gaze. He then reached over his back and grabbed a scroll, biting his thumb and unsealing two Demon Wing Shuriken, courtesy of his teammate. He took two steps, spun, and hurled the massive weapons at Kakashi, one after the other, but the jounin managed to catch both of them, one in each hand.

But that was the point. Hand seals complete, Sasuke shouted: “Fire Style – Great Fireball Jutsu!”

Kakashi’s visible eye widened at the sight of the massive fireball heading towards him, surprised that a mere genin had enough chakra to perform such a jutsu. _Well_ , thought the jounin as the fireball overtook him, _he’s certainly different from the other two._

His jutsu complete, Sasuke let the fire die out. His eyes widened, however, at the sight of no Kakashi and no evidence of his burning. In the trees, Naruto and Sakura tensed as Sasuke immediately got on guard, his eyes snapping from left to right.

“Where’d he go!?” asked Sasuke, unaware that he was speaking out loud. “Behind me? Above me?”

_Crack!_

Sasuke looked down, surprised at the sight of a hand bursting out of the ground and grabbing his leg. “I’m where you least expect me to be,” came Kakashi’s voice from underground, “Underneath you!”

With a rumble, Sasuke was pulled down and underground, leaving only his head above ground. A few feet away, Kakashi burst out from another hole which he proceeded to fill before crouching in front of Sasuke.

“Earth Style – Headhunter Jutsu,” said Kakashi with a smile. “Now, I’m off to find your teammates. Don’t move now! Ja ne!”

With a swirl of leaves, Kakashi vanished. Sasuke however only had to wait half-a-minute before two sets of footsteps neared him – Naruto and Sakura.

“What took you so long?” asked the Uchiha.

“Hey, we didn’t expect for you to get buried,” Naruto protested. He crouched down next to the Uchiha and quickly started to dig him out, Sakura standing guard over the two with her fists raised.

“Naruto, hurry up!” urged the pinkette.

“Ugh, I’m trying!” he answered, “If I could use a Kunai this would be so much faster, but I’d risk stabbing Sasuke!”

“Well at least for once you’re thinking,” mocked Sasuke.

“Hey, don’t say a word or else I’m leaving you stuck in there!”

“WE ARE NOT LEAVING SASUKE BURIED!” yelled an irate Sakura before pushing the blonde out of the way. Furiously, she jammed her hands _straight into the ground_ , and with an angry yell pulled the teen out.

For a moment, everyone stood still – Sasuke in surprise at his sudden release, Sakura in amazement at her strength, and Naruto…

“Sakura…” he said, face pale, “have I ever told you that you can be terrifying sometimes?”

Sakura blinked, before staring at her hands.

“Well… it’s safe to say that even I didn’t see that coming.”

The three jumped. Upon seeing the jounin, standing relaxed a few paces away, the three immediately got into position – Naruto in the center, with Sasuke to the right and Sakura to the left. The three were in varying combat positions as well, with Sakura standing in what looked like a Muay Thai stance, Sasuke in the Uchiha style taijutsu stance, and Naruto in Orochimaru’s, and by proxy, Anko Mitarashi’s famous Snake Style stance.

For a moment, there was silence. But when a lone leaf struck the ground between the jounin and the genin, Naruto reached for the two unopened Demon Wing Shuriken on his back. With one single, fluid movement, the boy opened and threw them at his Sensei, who reciprocated by throwing the two shuriken he had taken from Sasuke and the two sets of weapons clashed in midair. Naruto’s shuriken exploded, revealing themselves as henged clones who immediately grabbed Sasuke’s Shurikens and threw them at Kakashi, surprising him and forcing him to dodge.

However, as soon as he landed he was beset by Sakura’s stone-like punches and kicks. Kakashi blocked all of them, but even so he could feel the massive strength behind every single hit. _Give her a few years, maybe months, and she’ll be hitting just as hard as the Sannin Tsunade,_ Kakashi thought as he blocked another punch. He managed to kick the girl away, but Naruto immediately took her place, striking at Kakashi with quick and powerful hits but avoiding most of Kakashi’s counter hits. In one instance, to avoid one of Kakashi’s kicks the blonde even bent backwards completely at the waist while his leg came up to strike Kakashi’s chest.

_Damn! I aimed for his head, but he managed to block the hit with his chest at the last minute!_ thought Naruto. Thankfully, Sasuke had capitalized on the moment by striking Kakashi at his back with a roundhouse kick, which combined with the positioning of Naruto’s leg flipped the jounin over Naruto and towards the flying Sakura – Naruto’s two clones had interlocked their fingers into handholds and had thrown Sakura at the three men in the hopes of striking Kakashi. That Sasuke had made his move when he did attested to the boy’s reaction time.

“Now you’re mine!” yelled Sakura, pulling her arm back for a massive blow. When the jounin was in striking distance, her fist flew forward and smashed into Kakashi – only for there to be a small explosion, revealing a shattered log.

A few feet away under cover, Kakashi was astounded at Sakura’s strength. _I take it back,_ he thought, _she’ll be hitting_ harder _than Tsunade in months with the right training._

Sakura yelled in pain, clutching at her fist as she fell towards the ground, her momentum carrying her farther than she had intended. _He used the replacement jutsu to switch at the last minute,_ she though. _I knew I was too obvious, I shouldn’t have telegraphed my move like that!_

Sakura braced herself, clutching her hand to her chest as she prepared to hit the ground with her back, but before she could strike she was caught by Sasuke.

“Sakura!” he said, “Are you alright?”

Sakura nodded as Sasuke let her stand. “I’m fine,” she said, “but I think that one of my knuckles is broken. I can’t move my fingers.”

“Can you fight?” asked Naruto, standing next to his teammates, his eyes looking for Kakashi.

Sakura nodded. “Yeah,” she said, “I still have seven limbs to strike with.”

Her teammates nodded before all three stood back-to-back, hoping that their formation would deter attacks from Kakashi. However, none of the three expected for the jounin to blur between the three of them and push both Sasuke and Sakura away. Naruto whirled around, his hands in a handsign, but he was too late.

“This is where it ends!” yelled the Copy-Cat ninja as he drew a Kunai blade and prepared to stab at Naruto with it. The blonde’s eyes widened, and his arms moved upwards as if to block the blade.

_He doesn’t have a weapon!_ thought Kakashi. _I thought that he would’ve dodged, but instead he’s blocking! I can’t stop, I have too much momentum!_ Kakashi’s eye started to close, not willing to see the younger boy’s arms get mutilated by his own hand-

_Clang!_

-only for his eye to widen at the sight of two forearm blades emerging from underneath the sleeves of Naruto’s trench coat.

Naruto grinned at him. “Surprise!” he yelled, before pulling open his arms and _slicing_ the Kunai to bits, following up with a kick to the chest at his Sensei and pushing him away. When the jounin recovered, Naruto was in his Snake Style stance – legs open with his right behind the other, both bent at the knees; right arm straight, pointing downwards over his leg while his left arm was retracted, his fist close to his shoulder; blades open and drawn, gleaming viciously in the light.

“Alright Naruto!” yelled Sakura, punching the air from where she laid on the ground. Sasuke smirked confidently – Naruto was a tank on his own, his rapid regeneration allowing him to take hits and shrug them off, but with his blades both of his teammates were hard-pressed to fight against him.

“Ok!” said Naruto, “You and me, here and now, fair and square! Let’s go!” Naruto tensed, preparing himself to lunge and close the distance between him and his teacher-

-only to trip and fall at the sound of alarm clock going off.

Kakashi smiled. “Well, I guess we’ll have to get a rain check on that fight,” he said. “Meet me at the posts!” With a swirl of leaves, the jounin vanished, leaving behind two very worried and crestfallen genin.

Naruto, for his part, was grinning.

“What are you so happy about?” asked Sakura, “We failed! We didn’t get the bells!”

Taking his time, the blonde slowly got up, retracting his blades with a _shrik!_ He looked at his teammates, smirking confidently at both of them before he spoke:

“Are you sure about that?”

**…ooOoo…**

When Kakashi saw the three genin walking side-by-side-by-side towards the training posts, he smiled at them, already knowing what they were so happy about.

“So,” he said, “who’s getting tied to the post?”

Naruto grinned, Sakura smiled, and Sasuke smirked, and as one, they lifted their joined hands – where two bells hung. In the end, it turned out that Naruto hadn’t meant to push the jounin away – his kick had been aimed to the jounin’s belt where the bells had hung.

“Nobody!” yelled Naruto, “All three of us got the two bells! We’re sharing the spoils Sensei, and that means that we’re not failing this test! We’re ninja now, and you have to train us now so that we can get stronger, believe it!”

“What he said,” said Sasuke.

“I agree!” Sakura chipped in.

Kakashi looked down, his hands on his waist. His shoulders started to shake as he chuckled, his laughter growing until he was laughing out loud. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other worriedly, but their worries were laid to rest with the jounin’s next words.

“Well, it seems as if I have no choice!” he said. “You three pass!”

There was a moment of silence, before the three started to celebrate in their own way. “Yeah!” yelled Naruto, “One step closer to becoming Hokage, believe it!”

Sasuke looked down at the ground, eyes closed and a victorious smirk on his face. _Itachi,_ he thought, _I’m getting there. I’m not a prodigy like you, but in the end that won’t matter – it’ll only make my victory that much more satisfying._ He glanced at his happy teammates. Our _victory,_ he corrected himself, _there’s no doubt in my mind that they’ll be right next to me every step of the way – but I wouldn’t want it any other way._

Sakura whooped, jumping into the air. “We did it, we did it!” she yelled, “All that hard work finally paid off!”

Kakashi chuckled, shaking his head. “Now, now, settle down,” he said. “Did you three realize what the point of this exam was?”

The three newly-appointed genin stopped their celebrations and considered the question. However, none of the three were able to give him the answer, and they told him so.

“Honestly I’m not surprised,” he said, “You’re already channeling it naturally so well that even though I tried to pit you against each other, you three always put the squad first over your personal desires.”

“Channeling?” asked Naruto, “Channeling what?”

“The most important factor that leads to a successful Shinobi career,” said Kakashi, “Teamwork. Of course, taking that into account I should probably fail you three for cheating… but I guess that’s the Hokage’s fault – he _did_ assign you three into a team already knowing that you’d worked together before.”

Naruto chuckled, rubbing the back of his head in a way that was familiar to Kakashi. “Yeah, we’ve been friends for a long time,” he admitted.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” said Kakashi. “It was obvious from the way you three interacted that you’d trained together before. But back to what I was saying – when a team is on a dangerous mission, if one of the team members puts his own personal desires above the squad, then that throws the team into disarray and compromises the mission. Out there in the field, there’s no room for mistakes.” Kakashi looked up at the sky before returning his gaze at his students. “Did you know that you’re the first team I’ve passed… ever?” He smiled at their reactions. “Oh yes, but do you wonder why?”

“Because they didn’t display teamwork?” asked Sakura.

“Exactly,” he said, “It’s true, there were always a few individuals that considered teamwork to being the solution, but it’s a two-way street, and so I was forced to fail every single team. They thought that becoming a ninja was something to brag about, and that it was all about themselves. They thought that it was a game. They always fell for the temptation of having one of the two bells. It’s true that in the cases of those who considered giving their bell to their teammates, special arrangements were made, but team-wise? Failed. Every single time.”

Kakashi motioned at a nearby memorial stone, which the genin hadn’t noticed before. “Have you seen this stone, at the names engraved on it? They are all ninja who are honored as heroes in our village. Heroes that gave their life for the sake of this village, and for the preservation of its inhabitants.” Kakashi bowed his head. “The names of most of my dearest friends are engraved here.”

Their sensei looked back at the three genin. “A ninja must see through deception. Just remember: in the ninja world, those that break the rules are scum, that’s true, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.

“The exercise is over – Squad Seven starts their first mission tomorrow!”

Naruto grinned, holding out his fist. Sakura giggled and did the same, bumping against Naruto’s as Sasuke rolled his eyes and bumped his fist against the others’.

“C’mon, Sensei,” said Naruto, “You’re missing out.”

Kakashi chuckled, and bumped his fist against his students’. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke smiled, and following after Kakashi, they left the training area.

And with that, Team Seven was finally complete.

**…ooOoo…**


	3. A Mission to Wave

Arc I – The Times before Seven

**...ooOoo...**

The forests were dark, even though the sun was shining brightly above the canopy. There was no wind, nothing to disturb the quiet grounds – it was as if every single creature had hidden itself away in fear of _something_ in the area.

Well, everything except for an ugly-looking cat with a pink ribbon tied through one of its ears. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the cat from his position on a tree branch ten feet above it. Nodding, he pressed his fingers into his left ear.

“Leader, this is Foxfire, I’ve got eyes on the target, over,” he said quietly.

_“Acknowledged Foxfire,”_ answered Kakashi’s voice through the speaker, _“What’s your current positioning? Over.”_

“Half a click north from grounds entrance. Target is currently on ground – I’m in a tree above it. Over.”

_“Good. Keep eyes on target. Await for reinforcements and notify for any changes.”_

“Got it. Over and out.”

Just then, Tora the cat started to trot away, and making sure that his steps made no noise, Naruto followed it along the branch. When he reached a point where the wood would no longer support his weight, he swung himself from one branch to another in a smooth movement that didn’t even jostle either of the branches and continued following Tora until the cat stopped to hunt for food. Not finding any, the cat continued on its trek. This pattern continued for several minutes, the animal walking and enjoying its (temporal) freedom and Naruto shadowing it.

Just then, the speaker in his crackled to life.

_“Foxfire, this is Darkblade, what’s your status regarding target? Over.”_

Naruto held his fingers against his ear again. “Target is currently on the move. Distance from last call-in is one-hundred feet east, over.”

Sasuke spoke again. _“Acknowledged. Iron Fist is closest to you, five hundred meters east – you should encounter her soon, over.”_

_“Way ahead of you, Darkblade – I’ve got eyes on the target and on Foxfire,”_ said Sakura. Naruto looked around, and sure enough, he could see Sakura’s hair peeking from behind a tree trunk a few feet away from Tora. _“For the record, I resent my codename. Over.”_

_“Would you have preferred Cherry Blossom? Over.”_ The entire team could hear Sasuke’s smirk through the speaker.

_“Oh, bite me,”_ came the irritated answer, _“do you realize how ridiculous that name sounds? Over.”_

_“I beg to differ. I was merely referring to the color of your hair and how it looks in the sunrise, over.”_

A moment of silence. _“Nice save, Darkblade. Over.”_

_“This is Leader, reminding you that we’re on a time limit, over.”_

Naruto winced. “Sorry, Leader. Darkblade, what’s your position?”

“Right next to you.”

Naruto jumped, holding a hand to his pumping heart. “Jeez, Sasuke, don’t do that!” he said, turning to the black-haired boy perched on the thick branch next to him.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “I’ll stop doing it when you tell me where Tora is,” he said.

Naruto gave him a strange look and pointed at the ground. “What are you talking about, she’s right… there…” Naruto trailed off at the sight of an empty clearing. “Shit. Iron Fist, do you have eyes on the target, over?”

_“Affirmative. Target has moved fifty feet west of your position, over.”_

“We’re on our way, over,” said Naruto, and he and Sasuke started to jump through the trees towards Sakura.

_“We?”_

“Darkblade decided to jump me, over.”

_“You shouldn’t have gotten distracted, over.”_

“Point taken,” said Naruto. “Target is now in sight. Darkblade is currently circling around. Once he’s in position get ready to engage, over.”

  _“Got it. I am in position to engage and awaiting further orders, over.”_

“Copy Iron Fist,” answered Naruto. “Darkblade, what’s your ETA, over?”

_“I’m in position, over.”_

“Copy that. Leader, this is Foxfire, are we cleared to engage, over?”

_“This is Leader. You are clear to engage. Apprehend the target.”_

“Acknowledged Leader. Iron Fist, Darkblade, move on my mark. Herd target towards my position, over.”

_“Ten-Four,”_ Answered both.

“All right, on the count of three,” said Naruto. “One… Two… Three!”

Immediately, both Sasuke and Sakura burst out of the foliage and charged at the cat. Tora immediately noticed the two genin and tensed, running away… _from Naruto._

“What the-?” yelped Sasuke before the cat reached him. The devil’s spawn, as it was known by most – read: all except Team Seven – of the genin of Konoha, had known what was going to happen due to past experience, and so decided to react in a way they hadn’t expected by charging at one of the members. Sasuke was startled by this, and so was unprepared for the cat’s jump towards his face, claws extended.

_This is going to hurt,_ thought Sasuke as the cat descended on him.

A couple of minutes later, Naruto winced upon seeing the long scratches on Sasuke’s face, red and vivid against the boy’s skin. Judging from Sasuke’s expression, that wasn’t the worst thing that was stinging.

“Not. A. Word.”

Yup, pride definitely hurt more than his face. Naruto raised his hands in defeat, backing off to where Sakura was restraining Tora, the cat held by the scruff of its neck in the Kunoichi’s hand away from Sakura’s body. After comparing the cat with a picture they had been given upon taking the mission, as well as verifying the authenticity of the pink ribbon wrapped around the devil spawn’s ear, Naruto raised his fingers to his ear.

“Leader, this is Foxfire,” he said, “Target confirmed and apprehended – Lost pet Tora has now been captured. Mission Accomplished.”

_“Well done. Head back to Hokage Tower with the target. I’ll meet you there. Over and out.”_

“Got it, Kakashi-Sensei,” he said before turning to his friends. “Alright, let’s put that cat into the cage and go, Sensei’s waiting for us-”

“-at the Hokage Tower,” interrupted Sakura, “We know, Naruto. How about instead of rushing us you helped us?”

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, chagrined. “Hehe… sorry,” he said while picking up the cage... at the same time the cat slipped out of Sasuke’s grasp.

The screams made everyone shiver for miles away.

**…ooOoo…**

“Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, my poor little Tora, mommy was so worried about her lovely little fuzzykins, yes!”

Tora was yowling in distress at being hugged – read: suffocated – by her owner, a fat lady with rich clothing and jeweled rings on each of her fingers. However, it got no sympathy from the three scratched genin that had been tasked with recapturing the lost pet.

“Stupid cat,” muttered Naruto, “It deserves to be squashed…”

“No wonder it ran away,” said Sakura, “but I have to agree with Naruto.”

“Hm,” grumpily added Sasuke.

Pretending to read _Make-Out: Paradise_ , Kakashi smirked behind his mask, amused at his students’ reactions. The jounin – all of them – were glad that Tora hadn’t been around during their times, and so were free to enjoy the torture that the cat put their students through. Many an afternoon had been spent at the bar, drinking and swapping tales of how Tora would lead genin into complicated situations.

_There was even one genin that fell into a sewage plant,_ Kakashi remembered. _Poor kid, rumors were that he had cholera for weeks…_

Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konohagakure, was reading the different assignments that Team 7 available.

“For Squad Seven’s next assignment,” read Sarutobi in a bored tone of voice, “we have several available tasks, among them babysitting the Chief Counselor’s three-year-old, helping his wife to do the shopping, and picking up potatoes from the agricultural sector of the village. Which will it be?”

Kakashi looked at his students. “Your pick,” he said.

Naruto’s eye was twitching as he restrained himself from shouting out like a little child. Instead, he raised his hand. “Lord Hokage,” he started, taking care to speak in a respectful tone, “are there any more… challenging missions?”

“Challenging?” asked Sarutobi.

“Uh, yeah,” said Naruto, “you know, a _real_ mission, not this kiddie stuff.”

Sasuke and Sakura didn’t reveal it, but inside they were thinking, _Thank you Naruto!_

Iruka Umino, who was sitting next to the Hokage at the long table, angrily stood. “Who do you think you are!?” he yelled. “You’re just a rookie genin with no experience! Like everyone else you start with simple missions to develop your skill set and prove yourself!”

Naruto couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you serious!?” he yelled back. “You’re calling babysitting a mission!? What am I supposed to develop in babysitting, my patience and observational skills!? I cultivated those by staying awake during your lectures at the Academy!”

Sasuke looked down, covering his smile with his hand. _I will not laugh,_ he thought, _an Uchiha must not reveal emotions, I will not laugh…_

_Even though I agree with everything you said,_ though Sakura, _you shouldn’t have shouted Naruto. It only makes you look bad._

Iruka developed a visible tick mark on his forehead, but before he could retaliate Naruto spoke again, this time in a more calmed tone. “Lord Hokage,” he said, “I apologize for my outburst, but with all due respect, my team and I, we’re getting suffocated here!”

Sarutobi raised his hand, cutting off Iruka again. “Explain yourself,” he said. “And please, speak freely if you like.”

Naruto immediately relaxed. “Thanks Old man,” he said. “Look, it’s been a month since our genin exam, and every day, we’ve been doing at least two D-rank missions, sometimes even three on top of our training. We’ve been dedicating each morning to missions, afternoons to training. Sure, helping people out is nice and all, but babysitting, painting fences, catching demon spawns… they get to your head. Seriously, the only reason I’ve had to use my clones in the past month was to clean up that park two weeks ago!”

_Well,_ thought Kakashi, _he had a rocky start, but his case has been made. He argued well._

Sarutobi nodded. “I see,” he said. “You understand the importance of these tanks that you and your team are being assigned?”

Naruto nodded. “I do,” he said, “Kakashi-Sensei explained it to us two weeks ago. He talked about the income the village receives, and he also explained the ranking of the different missions depending on their difficulty.” He smiled, rubbing the back of his head. “I think even Iruka-Sensei mentioned it in class as well a couple of times.”

Iruka blinked, sitting back down. _Even though he admits my lectures were boring,_ he thought _, he still paid attention. That says a lot about him._

“Good,” said Sarutobi. “I will consider your request, but unfortunately it’s not up to me.”

“Huh? Why not?” asked Naruto.

The Hokage chuckled. “Because I don’t know if you three are ready,” he said. “But I know someone who does. Kakashi?”

“They’re ready.”

Everyone in the room, including his three students, were surprised at the swiftness of his answer. “Care to explain?” asked Sarutobi.

“Certainly,” he said, not even looking up from his book. “Over the past month, these three have learned a variety of different techniques and have improved their teamwork. Each of them knows at least two elemental Jutsus related to their affinity; they’ve successfully completed chakra-control exercises such as Tree Climbing to my satisfaction; their Taijutsu has improved beyond the Academy style taijutsu; and they’ve taken to stealth exercises like white on rice. Also, each of them has their own special skills – Naruto’s bukijutsu, Sakura’s medical jutsu and Sasuke’s kenjutsu. It’s true that they have little to no skills in these areas, but all they need is practice. In fact, there is only one thing that I believe that they are lacking.”

Sarutobi nodded. “Experience,” he said.

“Yes, Lord Hokage,” answered Kakashi. “They’re ready for a C-rank, perhaps even an easy B-rank, but let’s not rush ourselves.”

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were pleasantly surprised at their teacher’s evaluation of them. True, they’d been training like mules every day, only taking Saturdays or Sundays off, but had they really advanced so much in just a month?

Meanwhile, the Hokage was nodding. “Very well then,” he said, surprising the three genin. “Since you’re so determined, I’ll give you a C-ranked mission. You’ll be bodyguards on a journey.”

Naruto grinned excitedly. “Thanks Old Man!” he said, “You won’t regret this. So who are we guarding?”

Sarutobi smiled. “Send in our visitor!” he called. At the sound of a door opening, Team 7 turned around to look at the entrance of a drunk healthy-looking old man… if that made any sense. He was dressed in beige pants, a dark green shirt with no sleeves, and a purple sash above his waist, and a full pack on his back.

“What the…? A bunch of little snot-nosed kids!?” he said. The man paused, before taking a _long_ pull from the bottle of Sake in his hand. The man, finished with his drink leaned on the doorframe and pointed at Naruto. “And you, the little one with the idiotic look on his face, you expect me to believe that you’re a ninja?”

Naruto glared at the man. It wasn’t his fault that his growth spurt hadn’t kicked in yet! The blonde slowly turned to look at the Hokage, whose victorious smirk widened upon seeing Naruto’s expression.

_I take it back_ , he mouthed to him, _You’re going to regret this, Old Man!_

_I’m sure,_ answered his grandfather figure.

Meanwhile, the client started to speak. “I am Tazuna,” he said, “I am a Master Bridge Builder, and I must return to my country and finish a bridge that will change our lives. In the meantime I expect you to protect me with your very lives.”

 “And we will,” said Kakashi. He turned to his students. “Meet up at the main gate in an hour. Pack for a long trip – we’ll be gone for at least a week, a couple of months at most.”

“Yes, Sensei,” answered the three genin in unison before leaving the room that was commonly dubbed as “The Mission Room.” Once outside the Hokage’s Tower, the three went their separate ways to their respective homes.

Naruto arrived at his apartment and went straight into his room. Grabbing a small travelling bag, he placed it on his bed and moved around the room, picking out the things that he would need. The end result was something similar to what he had packed for the day of his genin exam, with the difference that there were less storage scrolls, and that the scrolls themselves were filled with more weapons. However, after taking stock of some things, Naruto scowled and placed his hands in the clone sign.

_“Shadow Clone Jutsu!”_

There were two bursts of smoke, and Naruto gave his orders.

“You go to the main gate and wait for the others,” he said. “Tell them why I’m late in case I am.” The clone nodded and jumped out of the window, and Naruto turned to the other. “You, wait here for mom. Tell her everything; that I’m on a mission, and how long it may last. Oh, and lock up after me.”

“You got it, boss,” said the clone. Naruto nodded, picked up the finished pack, and left the apartment.

Looking up at the sun to check the time, Naruto frowned – even though he had nearly forty minutes left to get to the main gate, the place he needed to go to was in the opposite direction, meaning that he would have to double back afterwards.

_If I run, I’ll make it in time,_ he thought. Nodding, the blonde took off at a run, climbing one of the nearby buildings and jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Fifteen minutes later, the blonde made it to his destination – the one ninja supply shop that didn’t sell him bad quality weapons at a high price.

When Naruto opened the door to the shop, a bell above it rang, and the young teenager at the counter looked up with a friendly smile. The shop itself was rather empty, as the only thing clients could see was the counter itself – the weapons and supplies were stored away in the back, where no one would steal them.

“Hey Naruto!” said the shop owner’s teenage daughter, an ingenious weapons creator, enthusiast and inventor named Tenten.

“Hi Tenten,” he answered. “How’s training going?”

“Pretty good, actually,” she said. “I mean, I’ve told you how Guy-Sensei is, and while that hasn’t changed, he says that if we keep it up he’ll sign us up for the Chūnin exams this year.”

“That’s great!” Naruto said with a smile. “I wish I could join you guys, but I doubt Kakashi-Sensei would sign us up… oh well, we’ll see. Something tells me we’ll see each other in the exams, believe it!”

“That would be great,” said Tenten. “Anyways, what do you need?”

Naruto shook his head, remembering what he was there for. “Well, I’m heading out on a mission in a few minutes, so I’m going to need a couple of storage scrolls and some weapons oil if you have some. Oh, and a couple of Kunai and Shuriken packs,” he said.

“What happened to the scrolls you were trying to write?” asked Tenten, moving into the storage room.

“They didn’t work,” he answered. “For some reason, the chakra wasn’t bonding to the paper. Maybe I wrote something wrong or I didn’t prepare the ink well, I don’t know. In any case, I’m short the two scrolls, so here I am.”

“Well you’re in luck,” came the answer from inside the room. “We ran out of chakra paper yesterday, and the new ones were just dropped off this morning; I made two fresh storage scrolls already.” Tenten exited the room, placing the two scrolls, the weapon packs and the weapons oil on the counter. “You want me to put these on your mom’s tab?”

Naruto nodded. “Yeah,” he said, “I’ll pay for them when I get my cut from the mission, don’t worry.”

“I never do,” said Tenten with a smile. “You always pay on time.” She nodded at his arms. “How are the twins working?”

Naruto grinned and held up his right arm, a small chakra burst resulting in the blade of his gauntlet shooting out with a _shrik!_ “They’re doing just fine,” he said, “They need a little bit of oil since I ran out yesterday, but that’s what this is for,” he added, pointing at the oil. “You did a great job with these, Tenten.” Another burst of chakra, and his favorite weapon retracted the blade. Really, he loved the damn things – they were a permanent part of his ensemble now, since they worked great with his Snake Style Taijutsu, and the gauntlets themselves worked for protection as well.

“Thanks,” she said. “You should know that I made my decision – you’ll have the only working pair of those in the Elemental Nations.”

Naruto’s eyes widened. “You’re serious?” he said, packing the new supplies into the scrolls he’d just purchased. “You’re not going to mass produce them?”

“Nah,” she said. “Too expensive. Normally I’d try no matter the cost, but I figure that I might as well give you an edge. So you’re welcome,” she added with a wink.

Naruto laughed as he started to leave. “Thanks,” he said, “but I think you’re just being lazy. See you Tenten!”

“Good luck on your mission!” she answered. Naruto nodded, and exited the shop before taking off at a run the same way he arrived. Fortunately, he was quick enough to arrive at the massive village gates just as the hour given by his Sensei expired.

“You’re just on time, Naruto,” said Kakashi as he arrived. “Your clone was just explaining why you were going to be late.”

Naruto nodded. “Yeah, sorry,” he said. “Are we ready to go?”

“We were just waiting for you,” said his Sensei, nodding at his teammates. Both Sasuke and Sakura were there, waiting for him along with Tazuna. Sasuke was wearing his chokutō, a traditional straight one-edged blade, horizontally on his waist on top of his dark blue shirt, white shinobi-style pants with a weapons holster on his right leg and dark blue sandals. A travelling pack similar to Naruto’s was slung over one of his shoulders, his left hand on the strap while his right was on the handle of his sword – a recently acquired tool once he was able to secure training with it.

Sakura, unlike her two teammates, did not wield an extra weapon for bukijutsu. Keeping in with her favorite color, Sakura was wearing a dark red shirt under a white jacket, along with black shinobi pants with bandages wrapped around her ankles and a weapons pouch on her right leg, black gloves with metal plates on the back and a travelling pack on her back. Unlike her teammates, however, she didn’t wear sandals, preferring a pair of sturdy black small-heeled boots that were flexible enough for her to jump and run as fast as Naruto and Sasuke. And as both male teenagers could attest to, a kick from those blocks of leather _hurt_.

Naruto smiled sheepishly. “Sorry guys,” he said. “I got what I needed though, so let’s go!”

Tazuna grunted, before walking out through the Village gates. Team Seven followed him – not knowing that the four members that would return would be changed forever.

**…ooOoo…**

The journey was uneventful for the most part. Since Tazuna was a civilian – a most-of-the-time drunk civilian as well – the four ninjas were forced to walk all the way to Wave Country as opposed to running, which would’ve cut down significantly on their travel time. It was irritating to say the least, especially to people like Naruto who were very active most of the time. Instead of reaching Wave in one day, they would be forced to at least two days.

The first interruption to the monotone silence was a question from Sakura regarding other Shinobi villages. Their Sensei explained that most countries didn’t have Hidden Villages, preferring to secure contracts usually from one of the five great Shinobi Villages – Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves; Kumo, the Village Hidden in the Clouds; Kiri, the Village Hidden in the Mist; Suna, the Village Hidden in the Sand; and Iwa, the Village Hidden in the Rocks. Kakashi then explained that there were other Villages as well, such as the Hidden Valley Village in the Land of Rivers, which had their own ninja systems and cultures, along with their own powerful leaders.

Sakura nodded during the explanation, while Naruto and Sasuke listened patiently – this wasn’t information that was given freely at the Academy. “Anyways,” Kakashi was saying, placing a comforting hand on Sakura’s shoulder, “there are no ninja battles in a C-Rank Mission, so you can relax.”

“So we won’t face any enemy ninja?” she asked, relief evident in her tone. It was true that she was a strong Kunoichi, but then again she was still a genin and no better than cannon fodder.

Just then, Naruto sniffed discretely at the air. Salt…

Kakashi chuckled. “No,” he said, “Not likely.”

Naruto glanced around, noting the bead of sweat rolling down Tazuna’s face. With a small hand gesture, he pointed it out to Sasuke, who got the message and instantly became more alert before passing the message on to their final teammate. Behind them, Kakashi had noticed Tazuna’s fidgeting for a long time, and was proud that his students were doing the same.

Time passed on again, Squad Seven and their client walking on in silence. The group crossed a bridge that marked the border between Fire Country and Wave Country and kept walking, with only Kakashi noticing a small puddle in the middle of the road. Even then, he only gave it a cursory glance without stopping.

It wasn’t until they were about ten feet away however, that things went to hell in a hand basket.

Two ninjas dressed in black uniforms, cloaks and rebreather masks on their faces emerged out of the puddle. The two ninjas were connected by a long spiked chain that was connected to a gauntlet on each of the two ninjas. Immediately they moved into action, they jumped, quickly rapping the chain around Team Seven’s Sensei. With a grunt of exertion, they pulled at the chain, and Kakashi was torn to shreds, blood and gore and bone and organs falling to the ground.

For a moment, Naruto was shocked. Kakashi Hatake, the Copy-Cat Ninja, killed in action right in front of his eyes? It seemed impossible that… that…

Naruto narrowed his eyes, clenching his fists. His sensei was alive, no doubt about it, because there was no way that a move like could take out a jounin of Kakashi’s caliber. But if that was the case, then where was he? And more importantly, where were the enemy ninjas?

A small breeze behind him alerted Naruto, and he immediately jumped into action. He tumbled forward, narrowly avoiding being wrapped by the ninjas’ chain, and twisted so that when he came up he was facing the two ninjas.

Except that they weren’t facing him. Instead, they had moved on to attack Sakura, who was guarding a pale-looking Tazuna, but Sasuke managed to pin the ninjas’ chain to a nearby tree with a shuriken and kunai. The chain tensed, reaching its limit, and one of the ninjas gave a cry of surprise when his arm was pulled back. Sasuke landed on the ninja’s arm and kicked him in the face, unintentionally dislodging the chain from the gauntlet it was attached to. His companion dislodged his own chain and proceeded to engage the Uchiha while the other rushed towards Team Seven’s client. Sakura got into her taijutsu stance, ready to defend Tazuna.

By now however, Naruto was back in action, appearing in front of Sakura and blocking the ninja’s clawed gauntlet with his own. Sending a burst of chakra and extending his blade, Naruto quickly slashed down and cut off the surprised ninja’s arm at the elbow, eliciting a cry of pain. He then moved out of the way, throwing the end of his coat into the ninja’s face to temporarily blind him just before Sakura kicked the ninja away with extreme force, sending him flying against a tree and mercifully knocking him out.

“Brother!” yelled the other ninja from where he was engaging Sasuke before turning towards Naruto and Sakura. “I’LL KILL YOU!” he yelled, slashing at Sasuke with his gauntlet and knocking the boy’s sword from his hand. He ducked under the boy’s slash with the kunai in his other hand and started to pounce, gauntlet forward with claws extended, ready to pierce through Sasuke’s chest, lethally wound him at least.

However, before that could happen, a blue-green blur intercepted the ninja, catching him by the neck and knocking him out from the blow.

“Hi,” said Kakashi in a nonchalant tone.

Naruto grinned. “About time!” he said. He nodded at the pile of shredded timber, evidence of his Sensei’s substitution jutsu. “Where’d all the blood and gore come from?” he asked.

Kakashi smiled. “Oh, that was just a minor genjutsu mixed with the substitution,” he said. “It works wonders with fooling enemies. But anyways, well done you three. You protected the client and took down the enemy without hesitation. I’m impressed.”

Sasuke smirked, while Naruto and Sakura grinned and smiled respectively. “However,” Kakashi interrupted their celebration, “we need to get the poison out of your system Naruto, so don’t move around too much; otherwise you’ll spread the poison.”

Naruto blinked. “Huh?” he said confused, looking down at his body for any visible wounds. A small flash of color caught his eye, drawing it to the back of his hand. Apparently it had been scratched when he blocked that ninja’s gauntlet, but for the life of him he couldn’t feel any pain from the wound whatsoever.

“I must still have adrenaline in my system,” muttered Naruto, looking at the scratch speculatively.

“By the way, Mr. Tazuna…” continued Kakashi, catching the bridge builder’s attention.

“Yeah, what?” asked the man defensively.

Kakashi paused for a moment before looking at the man from his left – meaning that all Tazuna saw was Kakashi’s headband-covered eye. “We need to talk,” was all the Copy-Cat said.

A few minutes later that included some rope and a fire jutsu, team seven plus Tazuna were looking down at the tied pair of ninjas. They’d waken up some time earlier, one of them moaning at the loss of his arm.

Kakashi looked up from where he was checking a small black book for reference. “They are the Demon Brothers Gōzu and Meizu,” he said, “Chūnin-level missing-nin from the Village Hidden in the Mist. Their specialty is relentless attack – they keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice.”

Gōzu looked up, glaring at him. At his side, Meizu was sitting stonily, not giving any indication whatsoever that his stump was hurting him, but Naruto knew that he was definitely in pain. “How did you know about our ambush?” asked Gōzu.

Kakashi gave him a look. “A puddle, on a clear day when it hasn’t rained in weeks?” he asked in a patronizing tone.

Tazuna looked at him. “In that case, why’d you leave all the fighting to the genin?” he asked.

“I could’ve taken them out quickly,” Kakashi admitted, “but then I would have learned nothing. I had to know who their target was – us, ninja attacking ninja, or you, the master bridge builder?”

“Huh!?” asked Tazuna, “What’re you getting at!?”

“This,” said Kakashi, turning to fully face him. “When you put in your request, you asked for standard protection from robbers and highwaymen; you didn’t say there were _ninja_ looking for you, hunting you down. If we knew this it would be a B-rank mission or higher. Our task was to get you to your destination safely and protect you while you finished your bridge. If we knew we’d be fielding attacks from enemy ninja we would’ve staffed differently and charged for the cost of a B-rank. Apparently you have your reasons, but lying to us is not acceptable. We are now beyond the scope of this mission.”

Tazuna winced and looked down at the ground in guilt. Sakura stepped forward and spoke, “We’re genin, this mission is too advanced for our level of training. Besides, we _really_ need to treat Naruto’s would and get the poison out as soon as possible. Back in our village we can take him to a doctor-”

“Actually, I’m way ahead of you,” said Naruto, holding up a bloodied Kunai in his now-bandaged hand. “Hehe… sorry. But anyways… Kakashi-Sensei, I uh… I want to keep going.”

Kakashi cocked his head. “Why?” he asked.

“Because I made myself a promise years ago,” he said. “I promised myself that I would never give up, that I’d never stop on the road to my dream. I’ve trained for so long to get to where I am today, pushing myself until it hurt and training alone for hours, anything to get stronger. When I became friends with Sasuke and Sakura, I saw them not just as friends, but as family –as an orphan, I never knew of the value of having friends and family, but once I’d experienced it, I promised myself that I would become strong enough to protect them.”

He held up the bloodied knife. “Turning back now would be like spitting at those promises, completely throwing them away like trash,” he said. “And I can’t accept that. So bridge builder…” he looked at Tazuna, “I don’t know why you lied, but I’ll complete this mission and protect you with this Kunai knife.” He gave them a savage grin. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

**…ooOoo…**

“…so he just cracked? Just like that?”

Anko nodded with a smile. “Yup! I swear I didn’t know whether to feel happy that I’m famous or irritated that I could break the guy’s mind… oh well, there’s always the next one.”

Kurenai Yuuhi, Anko Mitarashi’s best friend, shook her head. To this day, she was still impressed at how much adopting Naruto had changed Anko. Her friend was still bloodthirsty and a bit of a psychopath sometimes, true, but at the same time she was more grounded, calmer. It was to the point that Kurenai never truly saw Anko smile before… not until her son came into her life. _That’s_ when the woman started to smile, to truly feel happy.

Now the only thing that remained was to find her a good boyfriend…

“What are you thinking?” asked Anko, drawing Kurenai from her thoughts.

The red-eyed beauty smiled mischievously at her friend, giving her a _look_ , and Anko sighed. “No, Kure, I’m not dating,” she said as she opened the elevator grill, having arrived at her floor.

“Oh come on!” protested Kurenai, following her, “You really deserve it Anko!”

“Kurenai, remember what happened the last time?” said Anko.

“That was an accident,” Kurenai defended herself. “I had no idea that he would try to come on to you like that, I swear.”

“I know, I know,” her friend consoled her, “but you get my point. Just because I was _his_ apprentice, men seem to think that I’m some kind of whore… as if I’d let that bastard touch me like that. Or any of them.”

Kurenai placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder, knowing how much it hurt Anko that other people saw her like that even if she didn’t show it. Anko smiled at her in silent thanks before stopping in front of her apartment door.

“Do you want some tea or something?” asked Anko as she fished for her keys.

“You know I do,” said her friend. “Your teas are the best in the village… and I still resent you for not giving me your secret.”

Anko smirked at her. “Well I would,” she said, opening the door, “if you weren’t so bad at making them!”

“Oh it’s on!” Kurenai tackled her, pushing her through the open door. The two friends landed on the ground laughing, but that stopped at the sound of a throat clearing.

“Umm, not that I want to interrupt…” said Naruto’s voice, “but there’s something really important that I have to tell you. Oh, hi, Miss Yuuhi.”

Anko stood, her friend following, and moved over to her son. “Hey you brat,” she said affectionately. She moved to hug him, but stopped upon noticing something… Her eyes widened, and her heartbeat started to pick up. “Where’s Naruto?” she asked, her voice sharp.

Kurenai immediately moved to draw a kunai knife from her weapon’s pouch, but Naruto’s clone stopped by saying, “Don’t worry, I’m just a clone. Boss got a mission.”

“Where?” asked Anko, worry in her tone. “When did you leave?”

“Wave country,” answered the clone. “It’s an escort mission. We were assigned as bodyguards to a bridge builder while he finishes his bridge. It’s almost done, but it’s still going to take about at least a month to finish. We left about four, five hours ago actually, just after we finished the D-rank for the day.”

Anko bit her lip, nodding. They knew it was going to happen, just not so soon. “A C-Rank…” said Anko, “How did that happen?”

“Honestly mom… we were getting tired of chasing Tora all over Konoha,” said Naruto. “If it makes you feel better, Kakashi thought we were ready.”

Anko scoffed. “It doesn’t. That man would’ve let you go on the mission anyways because he’s too lazy to say otherwise,” she said, before sighing. “Well, congratulations are in order I guess…”

The clone smiled. “Thanks mom,” he said.

Kurenai shook her head. “You do realize that you’re the first genin team to have a C-Rank, right?” she asked. “If you three are advancing so much in so little time, I really need to up my team’s training regimen…”

The clone blinked. “I didn’t actually,” he said, referring to the trivia regarding the missions.

“Well, good luck then,” said Kurenai.

The clone nodded his thanks before turning to Anko. The special Jounin moved forward and hugged the clone of her son. “Be careful,” she pleaded.

“I will,” he promised. Anko pulled away and placed a kiss on his forehead. The clone gave her a strange look, but Anko knew that Naruto would receive the clone’s memory when it dispelled, even if the boy himself didn’t know it. Anko gave him a nod, and with a final smile, the clone dispelled.

Immediately, Anko started to breathe heavily, and Kurenai quickly moved to comfort her friend with a hug.

“Shh…” comforted Kurenai, rubbing Anko’s back with her hand, “He’ll be fine, Anko, you’ll see.”

“I know,” she said, her voice quivering, “I know, he’ll be fine, I’ve trained him, he’s got Kakashi with him… so why do I feel like this? I’ve never felt like this…”

“Because he’s your little boy,” said Kurenai. “He’s your little boy, and you will never stop worrying, even when Naruto’s wearing the Hokage’s Hat and smiling down at all of Konoha.”

Anko gave a strained sound, a cross between a laugh and a sniffle, and when she pulled away, Kurenai was slightly surprised to see tears on her friend’s visage. Anko rubbed them away with a hand, smiling slightly. “You’re right,” she said. “Well, at least about one thing – I’ll never stop worrying about him. He’s not a little boy… not anymore.” Anko scoffed. “If I’d known this is what I was going to be going through I would never have adopted him.”

Kurenai laughed. “You don’t mean that,” she said.

“No, I don’t,” Anko agreed, smiling. “In fact, given the choice I would never have changed anything. If I were to relive my life again, I’d be standing right at that same corner, just waiting for a tiny blond brat to spill my dango. Before Naruto, I never would’ve thought about motherhood… but now I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Kurenai’s eyes were wide with wonder. Her friend never ceased to surprise her with how much she truly changed. Sure, she’d spoken about her adopted son with happiness, fondly calling him brat sometimes, but she’d never spoken so _deeply_ about her love for her son… Yes, Anko had definitely changed for the better.

Meanwhile as Kurenai thought this, Anko shook her head. “So, how about that tea?” she said, moving towards the kitchen. Kurenai blinked, before moving towards the living room and sitting down at the couch.

“Oh, before I forget…” came Anko’s voice as she popped her head into the living room. Looking at Kurenai with her eyes narrowed in a glare, she said, “You know what’ll happen if you say a word about what just happened, right?”

Kurenai looked at her with a straight face. “Of course,” she said. Anko nodded, and as soon as she disappeared, the red-eyed beauty giggled in amusement.

Oh, she’d keep her promise… for a price. There was a young man in mind that _might_ just work out for her friend…

**…ooOoo…**

The next day, by the same time that the group had defeated the missing-nin from Kiri, the group was travelling through fog so thick that not a single member was able to see more than a few feet in front of them.

After their encounter with the Demon Brothers, Tazuna had led them all the way to the sea, where they made camp and spent the night. Early next morning, an unnaturally thick fog rolled in, and along with it a small motorboat piloted by a single rower. Team Seven plus the bridge builder got in after breaking camp, and the boatman immediately set off into the thick morning fog.

For a while, no one said a word. Naruto was at the small boat’s prow, eyes narrowed and looking ahead into the mist, sniffing at the air every now and then. Likewise, Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna along with the boatman were vigilant as well. The only one who seemed relaxed was Kakashi as he read his orange book, but as he’d proven before appearances could be deceiving.

“We’re getting close,” said the boatman in a low voice, slowly rowing as he did so, “We’re coming up to the bridge.”

On cue, a massive unfinished stone bridge seemed to loom out of the mist. From their position in the water, the bridge looked to be at least forty to fifty feet high and was supported by solid columns of stone and steel. Pillars were located at regular intervals along the sides of the bridge, with steel cables strung from each and connecting to specific positions between the pillars. At the end of the bridge where construction was halted stood a large sign, warning anyone of the sudden drop-off.

“Wow!” exclaimed Naruto, forgetting himself for a moment, “It’s huge!”

“Quiet!” reprimanded the boatman, his hushed voice managing to sound urgent, “Do you _want_ us to get caught!? Why do you think we’re going through all this effort? Travelling through the thick fog, rowing instead of using the motor… this is that they don’t see us!”

Naruto blushed, while his teammates glared slightly at him. Kakashi turned to the bearded bridge builder. “Mister Tazuna,” he said, “before we reach the pier I want to ask you something.” Tazuna glanced at Kakashi but didn’t say anything, so the masked ninja continued, “The men that are after you… I need to know why. If you don’t tell us I’m afraid that I’ll have to end this mission when we drop you ashore.”

For a few moments, the boat was silent. Every member of Team Seven had their gaze riveted on Tazuna, who still hadn’t looked up from where he was staring a hole into the boat’s hull.

“You’re right,” said Tazuna, finally looking up. “You deserve to know. As a matter of fact, I _want_ you to know.” Tazuna took a deep breath, calming his nerves. “The man who’s after me… he’s a small man that casts a long shadow. He’s a well-known, famous businessman that takes over countries with the same ruthlessness with which he takes out other businesses.”

Kakashi’s frown could be seen through his mask. “Who?” he asked Tazuna. “What is his name?”

Tazuna gave a sad chuckle. “You’ve probably heard of him,” he said. “His name… his name is Gatou.”

Kakashi’s single visible eye widened. “Gatou? Of the Gatou Shipping Enterprises, one of the most successful companies in the world? He’s probably the richest man in the Elemental Nations! What does he want with you?”

Tazuna took another deep breath, relaxing slightly now that the ninjas were listening. “It was one year ago that Gatou set his eyes on Wave Country. At first, he seemed like a regular businessman, buying our shipping companies and setting up businesses with his vast wealth. The thing is that once he’d driven all the competition out, he showed where he _truly_ makes his money – drug trafficking and slavery rings. And in an island nation he who controls the sea controls everything

“But that doesn’t really answer your question. You see, they bridge is a threat – a threat to him and his power. If that bridge is finished, Wave country would be able to open new trade routes through it – which is why I must be protected at all costs, for I am the only one that finish the job. If you leave me, they’ll assassinate me before I reach home.”

Tazuna sighed. “But don’t feel bad about that!” he said, “Of course, my sweet little grandson will cry ‘Granddad! I want my granddad back!’”

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the old man. He was actually _guild tripping them?_

The bridge builder continued, “Oh, and my daughter will feel bad and condemn the ninja of the Hidden Leaf for abandoning her father and leaving her life in sorrow…”

Naruto glanced at his teammates. Sasuke expressed nothing, but kind-hearted Sakura was beginning to be convinced… as was he.

“But it’s not your fault!” cheerfully finished Tazuna, “Forget it, don’t worry about it!”

Kakashi looked at his students, taking in _their_ decisions before turning back to Tazuna. “Well,” he said, “I guess we have no choice but to continue!”

Tazuna let out a relieved breath. “I am very grateful,” was all he said. Internally, he was giving them a peace sign while smugly thinking, _I win!_

**…ooOoo…**

 As the group minus the boatman walked, Kakashi thought worriedly about the near future. _The next ninja they’ll send won’t be a Chūnin,_ he thought, _they’ll be Jounin._

With that in mind, he kept an eye out for any tells or signs of threats. His tension was noticed by his students since he wasn’t reading _Make Out: Paradise_ as he usually would in these situations, and as such they too were on high alert. Naruto was in the lead, his nose twitching every now and then, with Sasuke behind him and Tazuna behind Sasuke while Kakashi and Sakura walked at the bridge builder’s sides.

The area they were walking in was near the sea. They’d walked from Wave country’s main port in the city to a nearby forest path that led towards Tazuna’s house. As such, they were surrounded by tall trees on both sides, with the ocean not too far away.

As they entered a small clearing, Naruto’s senses spiked, and he quickly threw a kunai knife into a nearby bush alerting everyone. Team Seven froze as the bushes rustled for a moment… and a snow-white rabbit ran out of the bush.

“Naruto!” yelled Sakura, moving forwards towards the blonde, “What do you think you’re doing, scaring us like that!?” Upon reaching him, she bopped her friend on the head – hard.

Naruto lurched forward, clutching his head in pain. “Why- why’d you do that?” asked Naruto. “I swear, there was something there, and it wasn’t a rabbit!”

Ignoring the bickering of his students, Kakashi was nonchalantly gazing into the surrounding forest. _They’re here,_ he thought. A sudden whoosh, barely heard over the wind coming from the sea made the Copy-Cat ninja’s instincts scream one thing: _danger!_

“Get down!!” he yelled. Immediately, every member of Team Seven dived to the ground, Sasuke pushing Tazuna along with him as a massive _something_ hurled over them, spinning end over end until it lodged itself on a tree across the clearing – and conveniently in their way.

Naruto’s jaw dropped upon seeing the object – a massive six-foot-long sword shaped like a butcher knife with two cut outs: a circle close to the top and a semi-circular one nearer to the handle, which was an extra three feet long. Even from his vantage point the sword looked _heavy_ , which meant that the wielder was either extremely skilled or extremely strong… perhaps even both.

Just then, a man landed the sword’s handle. He was shirtless, wearing baggy pants with a vertical striped pattern and mimetic wrist-warmers extending up to his elbows, with matching leg-warmers. His nose and mouth were obscured by bandages that were wrapped around the bottom half of the man’s head, and his forehead protector, which he was wearing sideways, depicted wavy lines that were slanted at an angle – the symbol of the Village Hidden in the Mist. The slash in the middle depicted ninja’s status as a missing-nin – a rogue ninja.

Silence dominated the clearing as Team Seven and Tazuna got to their feet. Upon seeing the ninja perched on top of his sword in the tree, Kakashi’s eyes narrowed in recognition. “Well, well, well,” he said, “if it isn’t Zabuza Momochi, rogue ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist.”

Naruto frowned. _I was right… he’s a missing-nin,_ he thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Sasuke, making a tiny nodding notion towards Zabuza. Sasuke nodded his confirmation, and Naruto looked back at the missing-nin, already knowing that Sasuke would inform Sakura. _Alright then_ , he thought, _on three… three!_

Naruto tensed, preparing to launch himself at Zabuza, but he was stopped by his Sensei’s hand. “You’re in the way,” said Kakashi in a low voice. “Get back and protect the client.”

“Kakashi-Sensei?” he asked.

“He’s not like the other ninja,” answered his teacher, “he’s on a whole other level.” Kakashi closed his visible eye, his hand moving towards his headband-covered eye. “If he’s our opponent, I’ll need _this_ …”

Naruto glanced at his Sensei, confused. He and his teammates had discussed their sensei’s apparent partial lack of vision through the loss of an eye, always wondering how it had happened. Now the genin of Team Seven wondered – what was under that headband?

Zabuza raised a thin eyebrow at the sight. “Kakashi of the Sharingan eye… did I get that right?” he said, his gravelly voice low but hearable nonetheless.

Sasuke had a momentary lapse of composure, glancing in alarm at his Sensei. _Sharingan eye!?_ He thought, _What’s he talking about!?_

Zabuza’s smirk could be seen under his bandages as he spoke, “It’s too bad that you’ll have to hand over the old man.”

Kakashi glared at his opponent, while Naruto and Sakura wondered the same thing – what in the name of Kami was a Sharingan?

“Team Seven!” barked Kakashi, “Manji Formation! Protect the client and stay out of this fight!”

“Yes, Sensei,” spoke the three genin, quickly moving into the formation regardless of their questions. Once they were in position surrounding Tazuna, Kakashi finished pulling up his headband, revealing a vertical scar running down his closed left eye. When the eyelid opened, it revealed a blood-red eye with three tomoe positioned in a triangle around the pitch black pupil.

“I’m ready!” Kakashi declared.

“Kakashi-Sensei…” said Naruto, “Your eye!”

Above them in the tree, Zabuza chuckled. “Well, it looks like I get to see the Sharingan in action,” he said, turning around to fully face them. “This is an honor!”

“Ok,” said Naruto, glancing at his teammates, “I don’t want to sound like a moron or anything, but everyone keeps saying _Sharingan, Sharingan_. What _is_ that?”

“The Sharingan is a special and rare power that resides in the eyes,” answered Sasuke. “The user of this visual jutsu, or dōjutsu can instantly see and comprehend any kind of ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu and reflect the attack _back_ at the attacker. The Sharingan is a special, _rare_ form of dōjutsu, but there’s more to it than that – a _lot_ more.”

Naruto’s eyes widened at the explanation, which was then picked up by the missing-nin in their presence. “You got it right, boy, but you’ve only scratched the surface,” he said. “The Sharingan can analyze an opponent’s technique… and then copy it to the smallest detail.” As he spoke, a thick mist started to roll into the clearing. “As for you jōnin, the assassination unit of the Hidden Mist had a kill-on-sight order on you. Your profile is in our bingo book – it called you ‘The Man that copied over a Thousand Jutsu,’ Kakashi, the Copy-Cat ninja.”

As Zabuza was speaking, Sasuke was looking at his teacher with a speculative gaze. _The Sharingan is a dōjutsu that only manifests in some members of the Uchiha clan, and it’s always on both eyes,_ he thought to himself. _How did Kakashi-Sensei get a Sharingan implanted into his left eye socket? Who gave it to him? Did he steal it?_

“Enough talking!” snapped Zabuza, “I need to take out the old man right now, and by the looks of it, I’ll need to take care of you first, eh Kakashi? So be it…”

And with that, Zabuza gripped the handle of his sword, pushed of the tree, and vanished. The only remaining clue of the man’s current location was the small ripple that was formed in the nearby water where the man was currently standing, left arm pointing straight up and right arm in a hand sign over his sternum. The four Konoha ninja felt the man build up a massive amount of chakra, and after a few moments, the man seemed to disappear into the ever-thickening fog.

“He... he disappeared?” asked Naruto, surprised. _Where’d he go?_

“Sensei, who is he?” asked Sakura.

Kakashi looked out at the water, his eyes barely piercing through the mist. “Zabuza Momochi,” he said, “A-rank missing-nin from the Village Hidden in the Mist. He’s the ex-leader of the Hidden Mist assassination unit, the Swordsmen of the Bloody Mist. He’s also a master of the silent killing technique.”

“Silent killing?” asked Naruto.

“As the name suggests, it happens in an instant, without any sound or warning of any kind,” said Kakashi. “It’s so fast that you pass over to the next life without realizing what’s happened. The Sharingan can’t fully neutralize it, so don’t lower your guard.” Kakashi glanced at them, his normal eye narrowed into his trademark smile. “But don’t worry, if we fail we only lose our lives!”

Sakura glared at her teacher. “You have a way with words, Sensei,” she deadpanned.

Naruto glanced around, his eyes looking into the thickening mist. “The mist is getting thicker and thicker,” he said.

“The Land of Waves is surrounded by ocean,” said Tazuna, speaking up for the first time, “so the mists are ever-present.”

As he spoke, the mist became so thick that Kakashi seemed to be swallowed up by it as well, just like Zabuza. The three genin noticed, of course, but preferred not to say anything for varying reasons – Sakura out of fear, Naruto out of trust in his Sensei’s abilities, and Sasuke because… well, Sasuke.

_“Eight Points.”_

“What’s that?” started Sakura upon hearing Zabuza’s disembodied voice.

_“Larynx, Spine, Lungs, Liver, Jugular, Subclavian Artery, Kidneys… Heart.”_ The three genin and Tazuna started to shiver out of fear, Zabuza’s voice filled with killing intent. _“Now… which will be my kill point?”_

Naruto gulped, not liking the sound of that at all. He tightened the grip he had on his kunai knife until his knuckled became white with strain. _Dammit,_ he thought, _I_ hate _this feeling of not doing anything!_

Suddenly, there was a burst of chakra, the mist dissipated by a wind generated from Kakashi’s chakra burst alone. Unfortunately, it was also laced with killing intent, enough to finish the job of terrifying the four people behind him that Zabuza never finished.

Sasuke’s shivering became worse, memories of a long-ago nightmare resurfacing. _What an intense thirst for blood!_ He thought, terror in his every thought. _One shallow breath, one tiny movement of the eye is enough to bring on instant death… if it goes on like this I’ll go insane!_ Sasuke gulped. _A clash of two jounin with the intent to kill… I’ve never felt anything so chilling! It’s as if my own life is being choked off!_ Unbeknownst to him, the hand that gripped his kunai was starting to move shakily towards his own chest, blade pointed at his heart.

“Sasuke!”

With a gasp, Sasuke’s gaze snapped over to his teacher. “Calm down,” came Kakashi’s reassuring voice. “I’ll protect you all with my life, and I will not allow my comrades to die.” The copy-cat ninja turned his head towards his student, both eyes, normal and Sharingan, displaying the reassuring smile he wore. “Trust me.”

After a moment, Sasuke took a deep breath and relaxed. Two simultaneous breaths at behind him revealed that his teammates were doing the same, making Sasuke start. _I was about to kill myself out of sheer terror_ , he realized.

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Three pairs of eyes widened, knowing without having to look that Zabuza was behind them by how close his voice was. “It’s over!”

“DUCK!” yelled Naruto, whirling around. Tazuna and his teammates did so as Naruto whirled around, his left gauntlet leading and aimed towards Zabuza’s neck. Zabuza’s blade quickly moved to block the blonde’s move, poised in such a way that it would cut straight through Naruto’s hand, but a burst of chakra was enough to have the blade hidden in his gauntlet take the blow.

Zabuza quirked an eyebrow in surprise. “Interesting…” he said, when suddenly his eyes widened before looking down at a thin blade protruding out of his chest. Behind him, Sasuke smirked.

“Never leave your back to an opponent,” said the Uchiha, but his eyes widened when Zabuza turned into water around his sword.

“Sensei, behind you!” yelled Naruto, finding a poised Zabuza ready to tear their teacher into two from behind.

“DIE!” roared the swordsman, swinging his sword and slashing through Kakashi at the waist, only for the man to turn into water as well.

_The water clone jutsu!_ Realized Zabuza, _Even through the mist, he was able to copy the technique in an instant!_

“Don’t move,” came Kakashi’s voice from behind, kunai knife at Zabuza’s neck. “ _Now_ it’s over.”

Zabuza chuckled. “You really don’t get it do you?” said Zabuza. “Your technique is nothing but a crass imitation! I’ll never be defeated by a copy-cat ninja like you!” Kakashi glared at him, but Zabuza continued speaking. “I will admit you’re full of surprises though – you’d already copied my Water Clone Jutsu when you made your little speech. Very skillfully executed – you made your clone say those words to draw my attention while you hid in the mist, waiting for me to make my move.”

“Nice try, but I’m not that easy to fool!”

Kakashi’s wrist jerked, cutting through the neck of the Zabuza in front of him and revealing it to be a water clone. Kakashi whirled, spying the _real_ Zabuza behind him swinging his massive sword. Unlike his clone, Kakashi ducked, the blade passing over him and smashing into the ground directly behind Zabuza and Kakashi. However, the rogue Mist ninja merely switched his hands on the handle of the sword, gripping it tightly and using it for support to give Kakashi a massive kick in his chest, sending him literally _flying_ into the air.

The three genin were wide-eyed at the strength of the ninja’s kick.

“Holy shit!” exclaimed Naruto.

“He’s got great physical strength,” noted Sasuke.

“Duly noted, Captain Obvious!”

_Now’s my chance,_ thought Zabuza, tearing his sword out of the ground and sprinting towards the bridge builder, only to stop at the sight of small spikes littering the ground around him. _Hmm… makubishi spikes. Irritating, but effective._ The swordsman then switched directions, diving into the nearby water.

Just then, Kakashi emerged from the water, his eyes frowning at the water surrounding him. _This isn’t normal water_ , he thought, _it’s dense, heavier as well._

“Now I’ve got you!” came Zabuza’s voice from above him. “ _Water Prison Jutsu_!”

Immediately, a sphere of water surrounded Kakashi, imprisoning him. _Dammit,_ he thought, _escaping into the water was a bad idea._

“This prison may be made of water, but it’s stronger than steel,” said Zabuza. “It’s hard to fight when you can’t move. So much for the great Kakashi – I’ll have to finish you off later. But first, I have to get rid of your little friends. _Water Clone Jutsu!_ ”

Immediately, another Zabuza emerged from the water, walking to the shore without a care in the world. The clone made a handsign, and like its progenitor it disappeared into the mist.

“Listen you three!” yelled Kakashi, his voice distorted slightly by the water prison. “Take the bridge builder and run! He’s using all of his power to hold me in this prison, so he can only use his water clone to fight you! However, that jutsu has a major weakness – it can’t move too far from his real body! If you get away from him, he can’t follow, so _run!_ ”

Sasuke glared. “Not an option,” he said speaking lowly so that only his teammates could hear. “That became unthinkable the moment he got caught! That guy _will_ find us later, and _then_ what’ll we do?”

“We have to free Kakashi-Sensei!” realized Sakura, punching her fist into her palm. “He’s the only one that can fight Zabuza one-on-one! He’s our only hope!”

“Right!” agreed Naruto. “In that case, let me test the waters!” With that, he burst into motion, sprinting towards the clone and flinging shuriken at the same time. The clone however batted the stars away with a single swipe of its blade, only to find the blonde missing. The clone looked up and spotted the blonde in the air above it, fist poised for a punch.

“I’ve got you!” yelled Naruto.

“Too easy,” answered the clone, simply reaching out with its hand and lucking Naruto out of the air by the neck, the shock strong enough to make the blonde forget about his arm blades. By the time he remembered, the clone had already thrown the small boy away.

“Naruto!” yelled Sakura.

_Dammit!_ Thought Naruto as he landed, quickly attempting to pick himself up. _He’s too strong! How the hell are we- argh!_ Naruto glanced at his left hand, which was still tender from the stab wound he’d inflicted on himself the day before. The pain however couldn’t have come at a better moment, as it gave Naruto a moment of clarity.

_Calm down, Naruto_ , he thought to himself, _we won’t win this by charging headfirst. Think, and plan._ As he stood up, he frowned at his right gauntlet. _My blade was supposed to eject at the top of my jump – he was_ supposed _to see it so that he could block with his sword and create an opening for Sasuke._ That was when he remembered the events of the day before. _I didn’t clean off the blood from that Demon Brother’s arm! The internal mechanism is jammed!_

Naruto cursed out loud – without one of his main weapons, his taijutsu would be severely hampered. Snake Style taijutsu was created by the Sannin Orochimaru, who was well known to have a contract with the Snake Summons. However, as the man was a ninjutsu enthusiast, he never really finished developing the style. As such, when he taught it to Anko, his only student at the time, the style was woefully incomplete. It was Anko herself that added to the style by incorporating some of the more aggressive moves to it, which she then passed on to her son, but even then the style wasn’t fully complete – Anko did like her ninjutsu and Kunai knifes. Naruto added his own parts to the taijutsu style, moves that mainly focused on the use of his bladed gauntlets. As such, with one gauntlet incapacitated, Naruto’s move repertoire was cut down in half.

Reaching a decision, he placed his hands in a seal. “ _Shadow Clone Jutsu!_ ” he yelled. Immediately, four clones popped into existence and surrounded Tazuna, temporarily relieving his teammates from guard duty.

Kakashi’s eyes widened at the sight of the clones. “What are you doing!?” he yelled. “I told you to run! This fight was over the moment I got caught, now take off! Your mission was never to prove how brave you are, it’s to save the bridge builder! Stay on mission!”

Naruto paused. _Well,_ he thought, _he has us there._ He glanced at Tazuna. “Bridge builder?” he asked. “What are your orders?”

Upon having all three genin’s gazes turn to him, Tazuna gave a thoughtful noise and looked down at his feet, his straw hat hiding his face from view. “This all happened because of me,” he said, “because of _my_ desire to live.” He looked up with a steely gaze in his eye. “But I won’t let that stand in your way now! Do what you have to do – go ahead and fight to save your Sensei!”

Sasuke smirked, returning his gaze back to the Zabuza clone. “Alright, you hear that?” he said.

“Yeah, believe it,” returned Naruto. “You ready Sakura?”

“What’s your plan?” asked Sakura, a confident smile on her face.

“I’m thinking…” started Naruto, smirking at the clone with his trademark determination, “that for once, we should work together.”

**…ooOoo…**


	4. The Summoning Clan of the Hidden Whirlpool Village

Arc I – The Times before Seven

**...ooOoo...**

_“I’m thinking that for once, we should work together.”_

Naruto’s teammates glanced at him, before comprehending the underlying message. “I think you’re right,” said Sasuke.

“Who knew Naruto could actually think?” joked Sakura.

Naruto’s smirk vanished into a pout. “I hate you guys,” he said.

Zabuza’s clone started to chuckle, his laughter increasing until his shoulders were shaking. “You haven’t learned anything,” it said. “You’re playing games, running around and pretending to be ninja.” The clone looked at its hand with a gaze that could only be described as bloodthirsty. “When I was your age,” it said, “this hand had already crushed the skulls of many opponents!”

Naruto frowned, wondering what the guy – or his clone, anyways – was talking about. Fortunately, Kakashi started to explain from his spot in the bubble prison. “Long ago,” he said, “in the village hidden in the Mist, also known as Bloodmist Village, before a student could become a ninja, there was one final test.”

Zabuza looked at Kakashi, surprised. “You know about the graduation exam?” he asked.

“What graduation exam?” called out Naruto. Upon hearing the clone answer with a chuckle, Naruto continued. “What’s the big deal anyways? We had a graduation test too!”

The chuckle became a sinister laughter. The clone looked up and stared at Naruto dead in the eye.

“Did you have to kill the other students to pass?”

Naruto gulped as the original Zabuza continued the story with a scenario – a group of young students aspiring to be ninja, eating together, training together, until the final exam came around. There were only two rules – kill or be killed, and don’t stop as long as your opponent still breathes, no matter if they were friends or enemies beforehand.

Sakura’s eyes were wide. “That… that’s so cruel…” she said.

“Ten years ago,” said Kakashi, “in the village hidden in the mist, the graduation exam… changed. One year before, a young boy, who wasn’t even training to be a ninja, walked into the exam and killed over a hundred other students without pause or hesitation.”

There was a moment of silence. “It… it felt so…” the clone’s eyes snapped open and flooded the area with killing intent. “ _Good!”_

Sasuke blinked, and suddenly he was sent flying into the air by the clone’s elbow. As he flew into the air, Sasuke drew his chokutō and attempted to slash at the clone when it approached, but it batted the sword away with the massive replica of Zabuza’s blade before smacking the boy into the ground with the flat of its sword.

The _crack_ of ribs was heard like a gunshot in the clearing, and Zabuza chuckled, placing his foot with his whole weight on the boy’s injured chest, making him cry out in pain.

“Sasuke!” yelled Sakura in panic, whirling in surprise. Immediately, she and Naruto were on the move, running towards the rogue ninja in hopes of rescuing their teammate, leaving Tazuna with the clones. Simultaneously, the two held their hands in the one seal required for clone jutsus.

_“Shadow Clone Jutsu!”_

_“Earth Clone Jutsu!”_

Immediately, several copies of Sakura and Naruto shimmered into existence alongside them, and as one they charged Zabuza. The rogue’s clone raised an eyebrow at the sheer amount of clones, but didn’t allow that to faze him, preferring to raise his blade and dispel most of the clones with a single swipe of smoke and dirt. Suddenly, he felt the weight under his foot shift, and when he glanced down, he was greeted by the smirking visage of Naruto. Another glance revealed that Sasuke was now being carried away by his teammates.

 _They used the clones as a distraction, while one of them switched itself with the boy by using the Substitution Jutsu,_ realized Zabuza. _Not bad for genin._

“You alright, Sasuke?” asked Naruto while Sakura held a hand glowing green to Sasuke’s stomach.

“Been better,” the dark-haired boy answered, wheezing slightly. “He definitely knows how to swing that sword.” Once they’d reached Tazuna, he shook off his teammates’ arms and turned to Sakura. “Thanks Sakura,” he said.

“That’s only temporal,” she warned. “A couple of your ribs are cracked, so try not to get hit again, will you?”

Sasuke nodded before turning to Naruto. “I barely have enough chakra for one last technique,” he said. “Somehow, I can’t access any more. I _know_ that I should definitely have more chakra, but…”

“We’ll figure that out later,” said Naruto. “Can you do the fireball?”

“Yeah,” nodded Sasuke, “I can.”

“Then that’s all we need,” answered Naruto before turning to Sakura. “Get ready, I’ll give the distraction.”

“You got it, Naruto,” she said. The blonde nodded, before slamming his hands together.

 _“Shadow Clone Jutsu!”_ he yelled. Immediately, dozens of Naruto’s shimmered alongside the group before simultaneously charging at the Zabuza clone and dog-piling him. For a moment it seemed as though the clones had managed to successfully subdue the Zabuza clone, but after a few moments the Naruto’s were somehow repelled and thrown off, dispelling as soon as they hit the ground. Immediately, the Zabuza clone started to look around for the three genin, but it was surprised when it couldn’t find two of them.

Then its gaze was drawn upwards.

As it turned out, as soon as the clones had completely blocked the view of both Zabuza’s, Sakura had run forwards before stopping a few meters away from the group and turning around.

“Hurry up!” she yelled. Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other for a moment before nodding once, looking back at Sakura and taking off at a run. Sakura kneeled with her palms outstretched, and when the boys got close to her they jumped upwards, placing their feet in her hands, Naruto in Sakura’s right hand and Sasuke in her left. With a yell of effort, Sakura then stood, simultaneously throwing her teammates upwards into the air, much higher than anything they would’ve jumped on their own.

This was all deduced by the clone with a single glance. However, a secondary glance revealed that the hands of the two boys were blurring in seals, finishing them on the apex of their jump.

_“Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!”_

_“Wind Style: Gale Palm!”_

At the same time that Sasuke held his fingers up to his mouth, Naruto stretched his arms out. At the same time that Sasuke breathed out, Naruto clapped. At the same time that a massive fireball shot out of Sasuke’s mouth, Naruto’s clap resulted in the air being compressed and transformed into a powerful gale.

Fire beats Air. Air beats Lightning. Lightning beats Earth. Earth beats Water. Water beats Fire. These were the five unchangeable rules of Elemental ninjutsu. So what happens when a Wind Style Gale Palm is used in conjunction with a Fire Style Fireball?

Kakashi’s grin could be seen through his mask. “ _Combination Ninja Art: BFF,”_ he said, and Zabuza’s eyes shimmered in both incredulousness and amusement.

 _Big Fucking Fireball,_ he thought, shaking his head. _Only genin would come up with a name like that. Then again, it’s aptly named._

Sasuke’s Great Fireball Jutsu was already large, thanks to his Uchiha genes, but used in conjunction with the Gale Palm, it made the fireball expand and heat up incredibly, turning the flames white-hot from the intensity. The eyes of Zabuza’s clone widened considerably at the size of the fireball, not expecting for two genin to come up with a collaboration Jutsu like that and knowing that it wouldn’t be able to block the jutsu. However, it frowned upon seeing that the fireball wasn’t aimed at itself, but rather at the original Zabuza holding Kakashi captive in the water prison.

Now, one may wonder about the chances of success of such a plan. The genin of Team Seven already knew that Zabuza could use one-handed seals to summon clones, the next logical train of thought was to assume that the nukenin could use other jutsu with one-handed seals as well, such as some kind of defensive jutsu that could block Naruto’s and Sasuke’s combination attack. However, Sakura had thought about the possibility, and so as soon as she had launched her teammates into the air, she reached into her pack and pulled out a massive shuriken with four thin blades – a Fuuma Shuriken.

“Demon Wing Shuriken!” yelled Sakura, “Windmill of Shadows!” She jumped upwards, and with a single spin, threw the Shuriken towards the real Zabuza. The shuriken spun through the air, twisting around Zabuza’s clone and heading straight towards Sakura’s target, whose gaze was switching between the two attacks headed towards him.

Zabuza grunted. “Alright, so your genin have a few tricks up their sleeves,” he muttered reluctantly to Kakashi.

Kakashi’s eyes beamed with pride. “I’ll make sure to tell them you were impressed,” he responded cheekily. Zabuza glared in return, but didn’t say anything as he let go of the water prison and moved out of the way of the two attacks. As soon Team 7’s Jōnin-Sensei was free of his confinement, he too moved out of the way, catching Sakura’s shuriken in the process and vanishing just before the BFF hit the water.

_Whomp-hiss…!_

Every single individual watching the battle was given a treat as they saw how the Fireball wasn’t immediately extinguished as soon as it hit the water. It was a given testament to Sasuke’s and Naruto’s power that the instead of being extinguished the fireball _spread_ over the water, the fire coiling and twisting over and into itself as the steam from the lake rapidly forced it to cool down. The technique’s creators themselves had a special view of the show as they were still falling through the air when it impacted.

Simultaneously, the jinchūriki of the Nine Tailed Fox and the last loyal Uchiha landed on each side of Sakura, kneeling with their momentum so that their legs wouldn’t be broken. As it was, it was only the chakra control exercises that their teacher had taught to them earlier in the month that allowed them to control their chakra to absorb the blow well. This was the last thing on their minds, however, as they were staring wide-eyed along with their pink-haired teammate at the results of the Combination Jutsu.

“Whoa…” said Naruto. “We’d practiced the move before, but why was it that it was much stronger this time?”

“Adrenaline?” suggested Sakura. “We _are_ in a battle, and it’s been proven that adrenaline can make jutsus more powerful than they were originally.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” said Sasuke. “Kakashi’s free; look,” he added, pointing at a grappling Kakashi and Zabuza, kunai knife against zanbatou, the two elites standing on the water as if it was solid. “Let’s get back to Tazuna.”

“Right,” answered Naruto and Sakura together. The three genin then moved back to where Naruto’s four clones were standing guard over the bridge builder, who was slack-jawed at the move that Naruto and Sasuke had just pulled off.

 _Note to self,_ he thought, never _piss off a ninja, no matter how young or short they may be._

Meanwhile, Kakashi and Zabuza had separated, standing a few yards away from each other as their hands blurred in hand seals. A few seconds later, they simultaneously called out, speaking as one:

“ _Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!”_

Immediately, the water surrounding the two ninja started to churn, rising in the form of two dragons, one on each side. The two water dragons surged towards their target, but at the same time intercepted each other, grappling and biting until the two jutsus canceled each other out, resulting in a massive wave of water that reached Team 7 and the bridge builder and threatened to carry them away.

Again, Kakashi and Zabuza rushed at each other once more, but as soon as their respective blades clashed they jumped away from each other. They started to circle each other, their movements completely synchronized – the same movements at the same time in the same way. It was both creepy and gaze-riveting as their audience found out.

“I’m not going crazy, right?” questioned Naruto, “They’re _actually_ doing hand signs at the same time right? That’s… that’s…”

“How are they doing that?” asked Sakura. “Sasuke, does it have to do with the Sharingan?”

“Yes,” said the Uchiha, “The Sharingan like I said allows you to copy the enemy’s movements down to perfection, but that’s not the only thing. I’m not sure, but I think that Kakashi-Sensei is using the Sharingan to hypnotize Zabuza.”

“He can do that?” asked Naruto, incredulous. “Every Uchiha with a Sharingan could hypnotize whoever they wanted, whenever they wanted!?”

“No,” said Sasuke. “It depends on the eye itself. Depending on how developed the Sharingan is and on what type, the user has an array of different capabilities and powers. Don’t ask me any more though, that’s all I know.”

Naruto nodded, slightly wary. “It makes you wonder where Kakashi-Sensei got that eye,” he said.

“Yeah…” said Sasuke.

Just then, Kakashi’s voice rose over their conversation as he practically roared, “ _Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!”_

“What!?” protested Zabuza, “That’s impossible!” Whatever he was going to add was washed away – literally – as in front of Kakashi a massive vortex of water formed itself before shooting forwards and carrying Zabuza with it inside of the current. The three genin gaped as the Jutsu tore out of the lake and kept on going for nearly a hundred feet before depositing Zabuza at the base of a tree. This was followed by four thumps of metal meeting flesh as Kakashi pinned the Mist-nin to the tree with kunai, the man himself standing on a branch above Zabuza.

As the water receded back into the inlet, Zabuza groaned and looked upwards towards his foe with a pain-filled gaze.

“H-how?” he asked. “Can you… see into the future?”

For a moment, Kakashi remained silent, Sharingan and normal eye looking down at his defeated opponent, judging him. “Yes,” he said after a few moments. “This is your last battle,” he added, preparing Sakura’s Fuuma Shuriken, “ _ever!_ ”

However, he never got to use the knife in his hand, as out of nowhere, two thin metallic needles, each about six-inches long known as _senbon_ imbedded themselves in Zabuza’s neck, the man crying out in surprise once before falling to the ground, his own weight pulling out the knives pining him out of the tree. The entire audience – Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna – gasped in surprise before looking towards where the senbon came from. There, standing nonchalantly on a tree-branch not too far from where Kakashi was perched was an individual dressed in forest-colored thick robes, wearing a white mask with red waves painted on the bottom-right of the front, long black hair falling at the sides in two braids. _Mist Village Hunter-nin_ , thought Sakura, seeing the Hidden Mist symbol on the top edge of the mask.

“You were right,” came a feminine voice from behind the mask. “It _was_ his last battle.”

Kakashi’s eyes narrowed before jumping down from his branch, landing next to Zabuza’s body. After a few moments, he checked for Zabuza’s pulse, and after a few moments sighed. “No vital signs,” he said. “He’s dead.” He then looked over to the Hunter-nin, who bowed.

“Thank you,” she said. “I’ve been tracking Zabuza for a long time, waiting for this chance to finally take him down.”

Kakashi frowned. “By the pattern on your mask, I’d say you’re a tracker ninja from the Hidden Mist Village,” he said.

The Hunter straightened herself. “Impressive,” she said. “I see you’re well-informed. I’m a member of the Elite Tracking Unit of the Village Hidden in the Mist, tasked to eliminate Zabuza.”

Naruto mirrored Kakashi’s frown as he looked apprehensively at the Hunter. _She sounds like she’s around my age,_ he thought before glancing at his teammates. _Our age,_ he corrected himself, _To be our age and be an elite assassin… she’s no pushover._ His frown turned from apprehensive to frustrated.

“Naruto?” asked Sakura upon noticing his expression. “Are you okay?”

He shook his head. “It’s just…” he hesitated, before continuing, “all this effort, all of our training just to get to where we are right now, all that strategizing and reading and studying and practicing our ninjutsu and taijutsu, it’s _nothing_. Zabuza, he just tore into all of us like we weren’t even there, and this kid, who doesn’t seem any older than I am, just waltz’s in like nothing and brought him down in a single move. I mean, _look at us!”_ Naruto clenched his fists. “We’re just fumbling around without knowing anything! How can I accept that!?”

There was a moment of silence as his teammates, sensei, client and the Hunter-nin processed his words. Kakashi was about to answer, but before he could someone else beat him to the punch.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Sasuke. “Whether or not you accept it, Naruto, it happened. I know better than most that there are kids younger than all of us, yet stronger than even Zabuza or Kakashi-Sensei. The only thing that we can do is train so that the day that we meet that person, we’re as ready as we can be.”

“Sasuke’s right, Naruto,” agreed their Kunoichi teammate. “Don’t you think that Ms. Anko or Kakashi-Sensei know what we’re going through is nothing compared to the future? They dealt with the same things all of us are dealing with today, and they didn’t let that get to them. Instead, they learned from their experience and became stronger because of it. And so will we.”

Naruto glanced at his teammates before sighing, smiling slightly after he did so. “You’re right,” he said. “Thanks. I… I guess I needed that.”

“We’ll make it to that level someday,” said Sasuke. “We have to, if we plan on surviving to reach our goals.” The image of his brother pervaded his mind as he said this, and his normally expressionless face frowned.

Meanwhile as they spoke, the Hunter-nin, using a technique known as the Body Flicker, vanished into mist from the branch before reappearing next to Zabuza’s prone body. She slung the dead man’s arm over her shoulder before looking at Kakashi.

“I’ll need to dispose of the body,” said the Hunter. “It contains many secrets – too many. Thank you for your help. Farewell.”

With that, the Hunter vanished in another Body Flicker, taking Zabuza with her. Kakashi let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding before pulling his headband back over his Sharingan Eye.

“Well, that’s that,” he said. Looking back at his students, he smiled proudly, knowing that the level of maturity they had displayed today would help them for the rest of their lives. “Good job today you three. You protected Tazuna to the best of your abilities, and you helped me defeat Zabuza. Well done.” The three genin stood straighter at the sound of their teacher’s pride, Sakura and Naruto smiling and Sasuke smirking confidently. “But this mission isn’t over,” continued Kakashi, “we still need to protect Tazuna while he finishes his bridge. Team Seven, move-” Suddenly, Kakashi froze for a moment before falling face-forward.

“Kakashi-Sensei!” yelled Sakura as he slumped to the ground, unconscious. Team Seven and Tazuna rushed towards the man, Sakura rolling him on his back as her palm started to glow with green chakra while Sasuke, Naruto and the Bridge Builder hovered close by.

“What happened to him?” asked Naruto, worried. “It was that Hunter-nin, wasn’t it? I knew he shouldn’t have been trusted!”

“He’s fine, Naruto, calm down,” said Sakura as she ran her glowing hand over Kakashi’s chest. “He’s just unconscious from Chakra Exhaustion. He must’ve used too much during the fight.”

Naruto blinked. “Oh,” he said lamely. “In that case, let’s get to Tazuna’s house as fast as possible so that he can recover. _Shadow Clone Jutsu!_ ” he added, his hands in his favorite seal. Two clones popped into existence, and once Sakura had moved away, they picked the man up, one clone grabbing him from his legs and the other from his shoulders. Satisfied, Naruto turned to Tazuna. “Lead the way, bridge builder,” he said.

“Right,” said Tazuna. “Follow me, we’re not too far from my home!”

**…ooOoo…**

When Kakashi opened his one visible eye, he immediately shut it, groaning since it felt like he’d been stabbed with an ice-cold poker. After a few moments, he was able to open it again, albeit slowly, testing his limits as he tried to wake up and shake off the pain coursing through his body.

 _I think I overdid it with my Sharingan,_ he thought to himself. Before he could continue evaluating himself, his attention was drawn towards a young black-haired pretty woman who was wearing a blue skirt and a pink shirt.

“Waking up, huh?” asked the woman as she walked in. “Are you alright?”

Kakashi groaned. “I’ve been better,” he said, trying to sit up. Barely managing to do so, he continued, “Though it’ll take at least a week before I can move properly again.”

“See?” said the woman in a no-nonsense tone that Kakashi recognized. It was the same tone that he’d seen Anko use whenever she was scolding Naruto. “It’s better if you _don’t_ move,” continued the mother, “so why don’t you just lie down?”

Yup, this woman was definitely a mother. Kakashi sighed, before lying back down on the futon mat. “Right,” he said resignedly.

Just then, the sound of footsteps drew Kakashi’s attention to the room’s doorway, where his students plus Tazuna were walking in.

“See?” said Sakura, “I told you he’d be awake before sundown!”

Next to her, Naruto grumbled. “Fine, fine, you win,” he said.

“As usual,” said Sakura with a smirk, before turning to Kakashi, kneeling next to him. “How are you feeling, Sensei?”

“Like I’ve had you as a doctor,” he answered with a tired smile, making everyone, even Sakura laugh a little. “But seriously, I’m fine Sakura, just tired. _Really_ tired.”

“Well, that’s good,” she said. “At the most, all you had were some bruises that I patched up for you. But in any case… listen, Sensei, your Sharingan is really powerful and cool, but don’t you think that it’s not really worth it if this is the price you pay every time you use it?”

“Ah… well,” Kakashi cleared his throat. “Zabuza was rather clever during the fight. You wouldn’t know this, but the Water Prison Jutsu is a little more lethal than it appears. It’s not just a type of Barrier Jutsu – it’s also a very cruel execution method.”

“What do you mean Sensei?” asked Naruto.

“There’s no air on the inside,” answered Kakashi. “The whole sphere is completely made out of water, all the way to the inside. The outside is extremely hard, the chakra hardening the water until it’s stronger than steel, just like Zabuza said, but inside is just water.”

“But then how were you able to breathe?” asked Sakura.

“Well,” said Kakashi, “how do you three think I did it?”

For a few moments, nobody spoke. “I want to say it’s a special Jutsu of some kind,” said Naruto, breaking the silence, “but I didn’t see you make any hand seals when you were imprisoned.”

“Well, you’re close,” said his teacher, “but not quite.”

“Elemental Chakra Manipulation,” said Sasuke, speaking for the first time as everyone’s gazes turned to the last loyal Uchiha. “Your Sharingan allows you to memorize the techniques of other ninjas, but if you don’t have the ability to use them then they’re worthless to you. That makes it necessary for you to actively train the elements you’re using whenever you copy a new jutsu.”

“Got it in one, Sasuke,” said Kakashi with a smile. “It’s true, my main element is lightning, but just as I explained to you the day I showed you everything about elemental techniques, anybody can train in other elements, perhaps even theoretically master all five. Thanks to my Sharingan, however, you can say that I’m given a certain advantage that other ninjas don’t have. That doesn’t mean that I can use every jutsu in the world; like Sasuke said, I need to train so that I can use the jutsus I copy. One of the toughest exercises for water-style chakra manipulation is drawing the water from air. What I did was the opposite – I drew air from water.”

“And that just demolished your chakra reserves,” concluded Sakura. “You’re going to be out of commission for a while, you know, thanks to that little trick, but I guess that that’s better than the alternative.”

“Well,” said Tazuna, “he _did_ take out one of the most powerful ninjas that Gato’s hired, so I think we’ll be safe for now.”

“Yeah, but… what about the girl in the mask?” Naruto spoke up. “The Hunter-nin; there’s something that doesn’t rub me the right way about her…”

“Yeah, about her,” said Tazuna, “what is that they do?”

“The ANBU Black Ops,” started Kakashi, “also known as the Inferno Squad, destroy all traces of a rogue ninja’s corpse so that the secrets that their bodies contain – ninjutsu, chakra, special enhancements they may have – don’t fall into an enemy village’s hands. After all, an uninformed ninja is a dead ninja. Take me for example; if I were to die at the hands of an enemy, they may try to analyze my Sharingan. In a worst case scenario, my entire Jutsu repertoire may be stolen and used against our village.”

“So how would the ANBU prevent that from happening?” asked Sasuke. “What if nobody knows that you’re dead?”

“Mission parameters usually state the estimated time it would take for a mission to be accomplished,” answered Kakashi. “If a ninja on a solo-mission were to go MIA after a certain amount of time, an ANBU squad is immediately dispatched to track down the ninja and determine whether it’s because the ninja’s status has changed to KIA or because the mission itself changed.”

“And how do the ANBU destroy the secrets?” asked Sakura. “Is there a special technique of some kind?”

“Well, no,” said Kakashi, “in fact…” Kakashi trailed off.

“Sensei?” prodded Naruto.

Kakashi jumped slightly. “Hmm? Oh, sorry. Anyways, the ANBU dispose of the body on the spot, usually taking the head only back to the village to identify the ninja. Now, what does this tell you?”

“The tracker ninja…” said Sasuke, “he took Zabuza’s body…”

“The weapons he used…” added Sakura, “Senbon, throwing needles. Highly precise, but rarely lethal since they have to go through muscle tissue to get to the pressure points they’re designed to strike at! Which means…”

“Zabuza’s alive,” finished Naruto, “and that Hunter isn’t really an ANBU.”

“Waah?” gasped Tazuna, his daughter’s eyes widening next to him. “But you demolished that Assassin, you even said his heart stopped!”

“His heart _did_ stop,” agreed Kakashi, “but the human body can be induced into a temporal death state. Like Sakura said, Senbon are rarely lethal because they have to go through a lot of muscle tissue to strike at pressure points or organs, but there are no organs in the neck. Another curious thing – Senbon are modified needles that were originally used for medical treatments such as Acupuncture. ANBU know every intimate detail of the human body that there is to be known, so stopping the heart while keeping the body alive is easier than pie for them. Child’s play, really.”

“Come on!” argued Tazuna, “You’re overthinking this, right?”

“ _Encountering suspicion means you prepare quickly, for hesitation leads to disaster,_ ” quoted Kakashi. “Every shinobi knows this saying.”

The sound of a blade being unsheathed made Team Seven’s clients jump violently in fright. “And prepare we will,” said Naruto, a sadistic smirk crossing his face as the blade of his right gauntlet glinted in the light, dried blood staining it and reminding the blonde of the now-armless Demon Brother.

“Whoa, hold on!” said Sakura. “Some last minute training isn’t going to help us take on Zabuza! You could barely deal with him, Sensei, what are we going to do, tickle him to death? Besides, you can barely move right now!”

Kakashi chuckled. “Well, I can still train you,” he said, smiling. “After all, the only reason that I was able to defeat Zabuza was because you three helped. You’ve grown, and I’m proud of you.” Even the ever-stoic Sasuke couldn’t help but smile at their teacher’s compliment.

“You’re going to get yourselves killed, you know.” The room’s occupants turned at the sound of a new voice, their eyes falling on a little boy with black hair and a green fisherman’s (fisherkid’s?) outfit.

“Inari!” exclaimed Tazuna, “Come over here, where have you been, you little rascal?”

“Welcome back, grandpa,” yelled Inari as he rushed to hug the older man. Glancing between the boy and the lady, Tsunami, Naruto saw the similarities between the two. _Tsunami’s son, then,_ he thought, _but where his father is, is the question…_

“Inari that was very rude!” scolded Tsunami, “These ninja escorted your grandfather, and they brought him here safely!”

“Ahh, it’s ok,” said Tazuna, “I’m rude to them as well!”

As the Tazuna and Inari started to talk, Naruto glanced at his teammates. _That kid’s aura… it’s one of hopelessness, of despair and sadness. What the hell happened to this family that it even affected him? And what’s with the “getting ourselves killed” part? Who the heck does this kid think he is?_

It wouldn’t be until an unspecified amount of time later that Naruto would have his answer, one that involved tears, blood, a father, and a country without a hero.

**…ooOoo…**

The next day as the sun began to rise, if found itself shining down on a clearing where Team Seven stood, ready to train for the day. Kakashi, having found that he wasn’t fully recovered, had borrowed a pair of crutches from Tazuna and was currently leaning heavily on the items as he lectured his students.

“Now, you three have successfully mastered the Tree-climbing exercise to perfection,” he said. “Normally, this would be followed by the water-walking exercise, which I displayed when I was fighting Zabuza, if you remember. Now, however, I’m thinking that we should expand on your current skills a little more.”

“What do you mean, Sensei?” asked Sakura.

“Well, I’ll let you choose what to do,” said Kakashi. “It doesn’t matter what it is, but as long as it doesn’t require much from me, you can train in it. So no, Naruto, we’re not sparring today,” he added, seeing the blonde about to open his mouth.

 _Damn, so close,_ thought Naruto.

“So, what’ll it be?” asked Kakashi.

“Go ahead and help them,” said Sasuke, “I’m going to go practice with the leaf-burning exercise. I need to make my Great Fireball Jutsu more efficient; it takes up too much of my chakra.”

“Your Phoenix Flower Jutsu is a little sporadic as well,” said Kakashi, “I suggest you work on that as well. Be careful.” Sasuke nodded before walking away, hand on his sword as looked for an appropriate place to practice. Kakashi turned to Sakura. “And you?”

“I’m going to work on the water-walking exercise,” said Sakura after a few moments of thought. “Any advice?”

Kakashi frowned. “Well…” he started, “if I gave you any advice, it would defeat the purpose of the exercise. The only thing I can say is be careful. Oh, and don’t try it over deep water.”

“Hai, Sensei,” said Sakura. The pink-haired aspiring medic then rushed away, heading to the nearby beach to practice her self-chosen exercise as Kakashi turned to his final student.

“And then there was one,” said Kakashi. “What’ll it be, Naruto?”

Naruto fidgeted. “Well,” he said, “my jutsus are ok for now, I think. The Gale Palm doesn’t really need much control in my opinion – like you said when you taught it to me, it’s mostly just pouring the chakra into the technique. The same goes for the Windwall, but I’ll have a couple of clones working on that one in any case. And since you’re injured, taijutsu is out, which means that I can’t practice fighting with my blades…”

“Have you tried sparring with your clones?” asked Kakashi.

Naruto shook his head. “It’s not the same,” he said. “They have my same skills, so any mistakes I make, they’ll make, and I can’t really notice them.” He sighed. “In any case, I’d rather have my clones practice Sealing techniques, but that isn’t going to help us with Zabuza, I think. No, I’ve got something else in mind.” Reaching into his coat, he pulled out a small grey scroll with orange-colored ends. On one of the ends, hanging from the wood of the roller, was a small fox-headed pendant.

Kakashi’s visible eye widened. “Naruto,” he said, “do you know what that is?”

The boy nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “The old ma- I mean, Lord Hokage told me what it was when I gave him my report over the Mizuki incident. It’s a summoning scroll, a contract for a specific animal summoning clan.”

His teacher nodded. “And have you signed it yet?” he asked.

“Nah,” he said. “I asked mom, and she said that I would know when to sign it… and that I didn’t have the chakra control necessary for the Summoning Jutsu anyways.” The last part was delivered with the boy rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

“Well, Anko was right,” said Kakashi. “You have the control now, I think, and having summons fighting alongside us against Zabuza would definitely be beneficial… then again, I have no idea about the capabilities of this particular summoning clan. Foxes?”

“Not just any kind of foxes,” said Naruto. “Lord Hokage said that they were a unique kind of fox. He said that it had something to do with the ears.” Kakashi frowned, looking closer at the pendant hanging from the scroll; indeed, the ears of the fox were longer than usual, about the length of the fox head to be precise.

“Interesting…” said Kakashi. “Well then, let’s get started. The first thing you’re going to have to do is sign it.”

Naruto blinked. “Oh,” he said, beginning to open the scroll. Almost immediately, the scroll expanded length-wise, going from barely six inches to nearly two feet long. “Whoa!” exclaimed Naruto, surprised, “That’s a Sealing Expansion technique of some kind… Anyways, you got a pen I can borrow, Sensei?”

Kakashi couldn’t help it; he laughed. “If only it were that simple,” he said, hobbling closer to his student, who held the now-opened scroll. “You sign it in blood, Naruto. You see these square… boxes…”

Silence. “Sensei?”

“Yes Naruto?”

“…I’m not going crazy, am I?”

“…I don’t think so, no.”

“…those names are actually there… could they be…?”

“Yes,” said Kakashi. “At least one of them. The last one, to be exact.”

Naruto’s head whipped around to look at his sensei. “You knew her?” he asked, his voice desperate. “You knew this, this, Kushina Uzumaki? What about Mito Uzumaki and the others?”

“I met Kushina once,” said Kakashi. “She… she’s your mother. Was your mother,” he corrected himself. “She died protecting you in the attack of the Nine-Tailed Fox, unfortunately. I’m sorry, Naruto.” Kakashi sighed. “As for Mito, she was the wife of the First Hokage. You’ve probably heard of her as Mito Senju.” The copy-cat ninja glanced at his student worriedly. “Are you alright?”

Naruto shook his head. “I’m fine, Sensei,” he said, his voice thick. Naruto cleared his throat, and this time, his voice was steady, “I just… I’m happy, actually. I have a _name_ now, Sensei. And that… that’s enough for me. Besides, I have mom now. Kushina Uzumaki was my mother, but so is Anko… ya know?”

Kakashi smiled. “I know,” he said. For a moment, teacher and student remained silent, before Kakashi broke the silence. “So, summoning?”

Naruto coughed once. “R-right,” he agreed. “So I have to sign my name in blood?”

“Mmhmm,” agreed Kakashi. “Just bite into your thumb until you draw blood. You’re going to have to get used to that anyways since there’s always a blood offering whenever you’re going to summon something you have a contract with.”

Naruto nodded before doing just as his teacher told him to do, biting his thumb and using the blood to draw his name in the spot just below his mother’s. _I’ll make you proud, mom,_ he thought as he compared the two names, one under the other.

“Good!” said Kakashi once he’d finished, “Now, the hand-seals for the Jutsu are Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram. But before you try out the jutsu, I want you to concentrate on your chakra. Focus on it. I want you to charge up as much chakra as you can, since summoning the Boss summon is going to take a lot of chakra. And I mean a _lot_.”

“Kakashi-Sensei,” asked Naruto, “why the boss summon though? Won’t any summon be enough?”

Kakashi reached into one of his vest’s pockets. “Before you can start summoning, there are two requirements,” he said as he pulled out his orange copy of _Make-Out Paradise_. “The first you’ve already fulfilled by signing the contract itself. The second requirement is a little tougher; you need to summon the clan’s boss and gain their approval, usually a test of some kind, so that you may be accepted as the clan’s new summoner.” Engrossed in the book as he was, Kakashi’s tone never wavered, remaining steady throughout his speech.

Ignoring the book, Naruto then asked, “What kind of test?”

Kakashi shrugged, eye never leaving his book. “It depends on the clan itself,” he said mysteriously. “Now then, why don’t you give it a try, hmm? Build up your chakra, bite your thumb, go through the seals, and place your hand with the blood on the ground while calling out the Jutsu.” Kakashi glanced at the boy once before waving his book at him. “Go on.”

Naruto grumbled at his teacher’s casual brush-off as he walked towards the center of the clearing. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he placed his hands in the Ram seal as he focused on his chakra, shoulders and back straight, feet placed at shoulder width.

He breathed out.

 _Alright,_ he thought, _focus. Focus on my chakra. Build it up. Simple, right? Just like the tree-climbing exercise…_ Breathing in, he frowned, concentrating on his chakra and building it up, picturing a river with a dam being placed in the way. He pictured his chakra as if it were the water, building up as he denied it release through the dam. Unbeknownst to him, his chakra had begun to become visible outside of his body, charging up in waves as it formed an almost-physical aura around him.

 _His chakra…_ thought Kakashi as he looked in amazement, _it’s so_ vital _! There’s no doubt about it – that’s his bloodline right there. He’s an Uzumaki through and through._ He frowned contemplatively for a moment. _Let’s see how far he can go,_ he thought.

“Keep going, Naruto,” he called to his student, “You’ll need much more than that to summon the boss.” It wasn’t really a lie – attempting to summon Boss summons was, is, an extremely high chakra-consuming technique.

Naruto glanced at him from his position, the aura fading slightly. “Hai, Sensei,” he answered before returning to his position. Almost immediately, the aura surged, returning to its former intensity before surpassing it. Sweat dripping down his brow, Naruto kept at it for nearly thirty minutes, his chakra building up slowly but surely.

Suddenly, Kakashi called out, “That’s enough, Naruto! Use the Jutsu!” Unbeknownst to Naruto, his chakra had begun to bleed with red streaks. _Let’s avoid the Nine Tailed Fox’s chakra for now,_ thought Kakashi.

“Hai, Sensei!” His hands letting go of the Ram seal, he bit his thumb before shifting his hands to the Boar seal and going through the sequence: Dog, Bird, Monkey and ending with Ram. Naruto then slammed his palm into the clearing ground, calling out, “ _Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!”_

Just as he was privy of seeing a sealing array surge outwards from his palm, there was an explosion, a cloud of smoke and dust, followed by the feeling of flying through the air before Naruto felt himself slam into something hard, blacking out immediately.

When the blonde came to a few minutes later, he was greeted with the visage of his teacher smiling down at him. “Are you alright, Naruto?” he asked his pupil.

The boy groaned, sitting up from where he lay on the ground, rubbing the back of his head which throbbed horribly. “I’m fine,” he answered his teacher, looking up at him. “Did it work? Did the summoning Jutsu work?”

Kakashi chuckled. “You tell me,” he said, nodding at something behind Naruto. “I’ll leave you to it.” The boy blinked at him as he left, before standing up and turning around to look where his teacher had motioned at.

And promptly gaped.

The creature was huge, nearly twenty feet high, though Naruto judged that it was probably thirty feet in height since right now it was sitting. Gold-red fur was covered by grey-and-blue Samurai armor, with the paws and hands uncovered, large white claws glinting in the morning light on all four limbs. The head was just like the pendant on the summoning scroll, shaped exactly like a fox’s only with black-tipped ears that were longer than the head, drooping backwards and behind the Boss Summon. Golden, intelligent eyes peered down at Naruto over a red muzzle with black lips and fangs at least three to four feet long. Chains with links thicker than Naruto’s waist clinking all over the summon’s body and armor, but not to tie it down – instead, Naruto could see that the chains were fastened to the summon’s waist while the ends were attached to a pair of grey clawed gauntlets which laid next to the summon, two white-tipped orange tails laying demurely on top of the gauntlets.

This was the Boss. Of what though, that was the question…

For a few moments, nobody spoke. The moments stretched into seconds, and then into minutes. All the while, Naruto and the Boss stared eye to eye. Still, it was clear who would win the staring contest. By the thirty minute mark Naruto was fidgeting horribly even as the Boss smirked in victory.

“ **Well** ,” said the Boss in a strong, feminine voice, “ **it seems we have a new summoner requesting a contract. But whether or not we shall accept it, remains to be seen… I am Ikorina, leader of the Tigerfox Summoning Clan of the Hidden Whirlpool Village.** ”

Naruto cleared his throat nervously. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said. _Be formal,_ he reminded himself. “I’m Naruto- Naruto Uzumaki, Genin of the Hidden Leaf Village. I’m the ninja that summoned you.” With that, he bowed once, bending at the waist without breaking eye-contact with Ikorina.

“ **Another Uzumaki…** ” muttered the Tigerfox. “ **I felt Kushina’s passing over twelve years ago through our link of the contract. By then there were already very few living Uzumaki’s in the world. You must be her son, then.** ”

For a moment, Naruto hesitated. “To be honest, I… I’m not really sure,” he confessed. “I’m an orphan. Today was the first time I’d even heard of Kushina Uzumaki, but something tells me that yeah, she really is my mother.”

“ **I see…** ” said Ikorina. “ **Then how did you come across our contract?** ” she asked.

“It was in Konoha’s Forbidden Scroll of Sealing,” said Naruto. “Lord Hokage told me what it was after a certain… incident. He didn’t say why it was in there though.”

Ikorina sighed. “ **I may have an idea,** ” she said, “ **but that is a tale for another time. Now, we must perform the tests. As I have said, it remains to be seen if you and I shall make a contract. Are you ready?** ”

Naruto couldn’t help it – he grinned. “I was born ready,” he said, “believe it!”

The summon threw her head back and laughed. “ **Well you certainly have the Uzumaki Clan’s enthusiasm!** ” commented Ikorina. “ **It’s refreshing after so many years of solitude! Come, let us enjoy our meal.** ”

“Meal?” asked Naruto, confused, before straightening in surprise at a pair of dishes being placed on the ground. One was a normal-sized bowl, but the other was the size of a small pool, and they both held the tell-tale red of curry. Next to each dish an appropriately sized piece of bread was placed as well.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. “Umm… all I have to do is eat?” he asked.

Ikorina chuckled. “ **Yes and no,** ” she said. “ **You could say that this is _my_ personal test. The other test will come afterwards if you pass this one. This is a personal recipe of mine, and I daresay you’ll enjoy it.** ”

Naruto frowned, but accepted the explanation for the moment, choosing to sit back down instead. Ikorina reached forward, grabbing her pool while Naruto picked up his bowl. Ikorina held her dish up with both hands towards the heavens, giving Naruto a _look_ until he did the same with his.

“ **Now,** ” she said, “ **we drink. To Uzushiogakure – may our homeland never be forgotten!** ”

 _I have no idea what she’s talking about,_ thought Naruto, _but…_ “I’ll drink to that,” he answered. “To Uzushiogakure!”

And with that, they pressed their bowls to their lips and drank deeply. Naruto, drinking as much as he could but leaving a little in the bowl to be polite, set it back down, smiling contemplatively at it without noticing Ikorina’s piercing gaze.

 _Huh,_ he thought, _it’s not too bad. Mom usually makes it hotterrrOHMYGOD!_ Naruto’s eyes widened, his body stiffened, his face became red, and his hands flew to his neck. For as long as he could, he remained in that same pose trying to hold in his reaction, but to no avail.

 _“HOOOOOOOT!!! HOTHOTHOTHOTHOT!!!”_ he screamed in pain, flames shooting out of his mouth as he ran around in circles, waving his arms and trying to cool himself off in any way possible while generally making a fool out of himself.

Ikorina for her part, was in stitches at his reaction, laughing uproariously as she fell backwards, taking care to not fall on her tails. “ **That never gets old!** ” she laughed. “ **Oh, the look on your face! Oh, hahaha!** ” After a few seconds, she recovered herself, sitting back up and smirking at the still-panicking Naruto. “ **Have some bread!** ” she yelled at him, amused. “ **It’ll cut down on the heat!** ”

Moving faster than a substitution jutsu, Naruto dove for the loaf of bread he was given, tearing off a chunk and consuming it, chewing with urgency. After a few seconds of this, he calmed down, swallowing the bread and gasping in relief.

A few seconds later, he recovered. “What the heck was that!?” he yelled, pointing accusingly at Ikorina. “You- you pranked me!!”

Ikorina’s smirk became smug. “ **Well, I had to prove that what you said was the truth,** ” she said. “ **Nobody but an Uzumaki is allowed to sign the Tigerfox contract, though other ninjas have tried to become summoners of my clan.** ” She pointed at Naruto’s bowl. “ **That curry has an extra ingredient – a few drops of my blood. If your chakra didn’t have the Uzumaki’s vitality and strength, you would have died, consumed by fire from the inside out.** ” Ikorina smiled sadistically in a way that made Anko’s smile look cute. **“I’m told it’s a very painful death.** ”

Naruto gulped. “You could’ve given me a heads-up!” he protested.

“ **Now where’s the fun in that?** ” refuted Ikorina. “ **If you died, I would return to my homeland, simple as that. If you lived, I got a good laugh out of it and a possible new summoner. Looks like a win-win situation to me.** ” Ikorina chuckled. “ **Besides, you had nothing to worry about, not even now. In fact if you have some more curry, you won’t react as violently anymore to it.** ”

“Ha!” said Naruto. “Like I’ll take that chance! You’re talking to Konoha’s Number 1 prankster – you can’t trick me!”

“ **Well at least you won’t fall for the cold shit syndrome,** ” muttered Ikorina. “ **Ah well, it was worth a shot. Come on, playtime’s over – it’s time to give you the Tigerfox clan test to see if you’re really summoner material.** ”

Naruto narrowed his eyes. “It’s not another prank, is it?” he asked.

Ikorina rolled her eyes before standing up. Naruto absentmindedly realized that his earlier assessment was wrong – Ikorina stood at over fifty feet, tops. As it turned out, Naruto could see why she was called a _Tiger_ fox – her body, arms and legs were much thicker than a fox’s, with wide shoulders and legs that rippled with muscles. Naruto admired her as she adjusted her armor with her humanoid arms, picking up her gauntlets and swinging them around a couple of times by the chains. Truly, she was a terrifying sight.

Ikorina glanced once around the clearing, nodding satisfactorily before returning her gaze to Naruto. “ **The test is simple,** ” she said, her voice echoing throughout the clearing as she held up her gauntlets. “ **You see the red spirals on the back of my gauntlets? Your test is to touch either one of them as many times as possible with either your hands or your feet in the least amount of time possible. Of course, I won’t make it easy for you – I’ll be attacking you at the same time, so you have to dodge the attacks and try to touch the spirals while you’re at it.** ”

Naruto frowned. “That’s it?” he asked.

“ **That’s it,** ” confirmed the Tigerfox.

“I don’t get it,” said Naruto. “How does this test prove that I’m a good enough summoner for your clan?”

“ **That’s for me to know and for you to find out,** ” said Ikorina. “ **That is, _if_ you pass the test. Now if you don’t have any questions…** ”

“I do have one,” said Naruto. “See the thing is… what did you mean earlier, when you were talking about the Hidden Whirlpool Village? About Uzushiogakure being forgotten?”

Ikorina stilled. “ **You… you don’t know?** ” she asked in an incredulous tone. “ **Aren’t you from Konoha?** ”

“Well yeah,” said Naruto, “but I’ve never heard of the Village Hidden in the Whirlpool. Is my family from Uzushiogakure? Are you from there too? What about the other Tigerfoxes?”

“ **…the home of the Uzumaki clan was Uzushiogakure,** ” said a sad Ikorina after a few moments of silence, “ **before it was destroyed nearly twenty years ago, in the last Great Ninja War. The Tigerfox clan, _my_ clan, lives in Whirlpool Country, on a hidden island near the village’s remains. We are a small clan, but our Sealing Techniques were on par with your clan’s. We had a close relationship; the Uzumaki Sealing High Master – the leader of your clan – and the Tigerfox boss would march side-by-side as blood-brothers to war while our kits protected both homes. The loss of Uzushio still pains us to this day, and it is our greatest shame that we could save our neighbor’s home from destruction. Your mother and I, we were the last blood-sisters to go to battle together.** ” Ikorina narrowed her eyes at Naruto. “ **Perhaps, if you prove your merit, you and I shall continue the cycle. Now… dodge!** ”

With that, she swung her right gauntlet by the chain, spinning it once before hurling it at Naruto, claws aimed to gut him into ribbons.

“Holy crap!” he yelled, throwing himself aside as the gauntlet crashed into the earth where he had been standing less than a millisecond before. _Those things are fast!_ He thought to himself, wide-eyed at the speed of the throw. _And worse still, she’s probably holding back! Wait a second, the spiral!_ Locking onto the spiral on the back of the gauntlet, he jumped forwards reaching out with a hand to touch it before Ikorina pulled the gauntlet back. However, just as he was about to brush the symbol with the tips of his fingers, the Tigerfox boss yanked on the chain, pulling the gauntlet out of the earth while simultaneously knocking Naruto away, the clawed tips cutting at him.

“Argh!” he yelled painfully as he crashed to the ground a few meters away from where he’d begun. _I should’ve been able to dodge that,_ he thought, _but summoning Ikorina took most of my chakra! I barely have anything in the tank!_

“ **Tch,** ” said Ikorina. “ **That was pathetic. You dare sign my clan’s contract with that kind of fighting? Give me a break!** ” Her other gauntlet started to spin. “ **Let’s try this again. Dodge!** ”

“Crap!” yelled Naruto, rolling to the side while simultaneously pushing himself off the ground as the gauntlet impacted where he’d just been. This time however, the boy in mid-spin reached out with his heel and kicked the spiral on the gauntlet, the momentum pushing him away from it as Ikorina yanked the gauntlet back.

It didn’t escape Ikorina’s notice when his eyes flashed purple during the move, returning to their normal blue afterwards.

“ **Huh,** ” said Ikorina as Naruto landed. “ **I admit, I’m surprised. That was actually pretty good. Probably just beginner’s luck, but not bad nonetheless.** ” This time, both gauntlets started to spin while beginning to catch fire. “ **Let’s see if you can do it again!** ”

Some distance away, Kakashi looked up from his book, hearing Naruto’s cursing, the crashes, and every now and then, an explosion or two. _Well, it sounds like Naruto’s doing alright,_ he thought, his gaze returning to _Make-Out Paradise_. Kakashi smiled, _He doesn’t need my help. Nope, not at all… ooh, Kiyoko, you naughty girl…_

**…ooOoo…**

That night, Tazuna’s table was filled with guests. The man himself was at the head of the table, with Kakashi on one side and Inari on the other while Tsunami was washing dishes in the kitchen sink. Sasuke was sitting next to his teacher, and across from him was Sakura, both looking tired, dirty, and in Sakura’s case, wet from their training.

“Sensei,” asked Sakura, “where’s Naruto? Shouldn’t he be finished by now?”

“Hmm… now that you mention it, I would expect that he _should_ be finished by now,” answered Kakashi. “Then again, it’s not up to him.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well,” he said, “Naruto’s being tested.”

“By who?”

“A summon.”

Sasuke huffed. “About time he signed that contract,” he said between bites. “Any longer and I would’ve signed it for him.”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. “You knew about the contract?” he asked.

“And about his furry little problem,” said Sakura. “Naruto’s words, not mine,” she added, seeing his look.

Kakashi leaned back in his chair with a sigh. “I’m your teacher,” he protested weakly. “Shouldn’t I know more about you three than you know about yourselves?”

“We’ve been friends for years, Kakashi,” said Sasuke, “and you’ve only been teaching us for a month.”

“True,” said Kakashi. “But that being said, it’s been one great month so far. I’m still surprised at how far ahead you three are compared to your peers. I know for a fact that none of the others have even begun their elemental training.”

“Why not, Sensei?” asked Sakura.

“Because chakra control exercises of that level are for Jōnin,” he explained. Sasuke choked on his current meal while Sakura dropped her spoon. Kakashi chuckled as he thumped his student on the back, clearing the boy’s trachea. “Sorry,” he said, not sounding sorry at all, “did I forget to mention that?”

“If they’re for Jōnin,” asked Sasuke, “why did you teach us those techniques?”

“Many reasons,” said Kakashi with a smile. “But that’s for another time. Naruto’s on his way.”

“How do you know?” asked Sakura.

_BOOM!!_

“What the hell!?” yelled Tazuna in panic as Sasuke and Sakura picked themselves up from where they’d thrown themselves on the floor, Sakura holding a trembling Inari in her arms, “Is it Gatou!?”

“ **Sorry,** ” came a voice from outside, “ **but the boy was knocked out. He ran out of chakra. An impressive feat, considering his heritage.** ”

“Sensei!?” yelled Sasuke, “Orders!?”

“Stand down,” answered Kakashi calmly, picking up his crutches and standing up. “Put those kunai knives away and follow me, both of you.”

“Hai Sensei,” said his students. They followed Kakashi outside of the house, stopping in surprise at the sight of the massive summon standing over Tazuna’s house.

“Ah, thank you, Lady Ikorina,” said Kakashi, bowing once. “I was about to go looking for him.”

Ikorina chuckled, her tails waving through the air behind her. “ **It was no problem,** ” she said as she crouched down, holding an unconscious Naruto in one of her tails. “ **He’s one hell of a student. He was pretty determined to pass my test. Unfortunately he didn’t quite last long enough to hear my verdict.** ”

“Is he okay?” asked Sakura worriedly.

“ **See for yourself,** ” was the answer, Ikorina’s tail gently depositing Naruto at Sakura’s feet, where she immediately started checking over him. His trench coat had taken a beating – holes and tears littered the entire thing from top to bottom, some of which extended to his pants, and Sakura could see evidence of dried blood on his white shirt. Of course, there were no injuries on any part of his body – the Nine Tails’ chakra had made sure of that.

After a few moments, Sakura sighed in relief. “He’s fine,” she said, “just tired. He’ll be asleep for a while, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he wakes up tomorrow like nothing happened.”

“ **A likely event,** ” said Ikorina. She turned to Kakashi. “ **Now, as I was saying, your student wasn’t able to hear my verdict. Normally, I would extend my test over a period of several days, but your earlier explanation of the current situation calls for a change of plans. So, when he wakes, tell him of my decision.** ”

Kakashi nodded. “I’ll make sure he knows,” he said.

“ **Another thing…** ” she said. Her hands went through a series of seals, producing a small puff of smoke on the ground in front of the group. When it cleared, it revealed a pair of black and red gauntlets, the kanji for _Kushina_ clearly visible on the back of each gauntlet.

Ikorina smiled. “ **If he’s going to learn Fox Style Taijutsu, then he might as well get the full package,** ” she said. “ **Tell him… we accept the contract. He’ll know what to do.** ”

With that, there was a flash of red fire. When it died down, Ikorina was gone.

“Well,” said Sasuke, glancing down at his unconscious teammate, “things are getting interesting.” With that, he moved forward, picking Naruto up and slinging him over his shoulders with slight difficulty. “He needs to lay off the ramen,” said Sasuke with a huff.

Sakura giggled, picking up Naruto’s new gauntlets. “Don’t let him you say that,” she teased as they walked back into Tazuna’s house. “After all, since when aren’t you strong enough to deal with a little extra baggage?”

“He _is_ skin and bones,” agreed Kakashi, following them. “You okay there, Sasuke? I can help you if you want, you know.”

“Hn,” was the answer. “You two are idiots.” This only served to amuse Kakashi and Sakura even more as they began to climb the stairs to the rooms Tsunami had prepared for them. They were unaware however, of the two black eyes that followed the group upstairs, bitterness and contempt swimming in them.

Or at least, that’s what they wanted him to think. As Inari’s thoughts about heroes and death turned over and over in the boy’s mind, Sakura and Sasuke were discussing the boy in question, Kakashi having left for his own room.

“Did you see his eyes?” asked Sakura as Sasuke set Naruto down on the bed Tsunami had lent them.

“Yeah,” said Sasuke. “He’s lost hope. He’s the complete antithesis of me and Naruto. Where Naruto and I just keep going, not giving up no matter what, he’s given up already on whatever effort his grandfather’s going through to free this country from Gatou.”

“He’s a little kid,” said Sakura gently, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “He doesn’t know the hardships that we as ninja go through just in our training.”

Sasuke sighed. “Still,” he said, “I guess we should find out why he’s like that. If he keeps thinking the way he is now and he grows up… there’s no telling what kind of person he’ll be. One thing’s for sure – he’ll be someone that will spend his life in darkness.”

Sakura said nothing, agreeing silently as the boy left the room. After all, Sasuke would know better than most – she and Naruto had been the ones to save Sasuke from his own personal darkness. Glancing at her unconscious teammate, she thought, _If there’s anyone that can bring Inari out of his darkness, it’s you, Naruto. You have a way with people that just makes them smile._ She then glanced at Sasuke, _You showed me how, and you helped me become friends with Sasuke while showing me how foolish I was._ She turned to follow Sasuke, smiling slightly as had one last thought, _Wake up soon, Naruto… or Sasuke might just beat you at healing Inari._

Downstairs, Inari shivered, feeling as if someone had just walked over his grave.

**…ooOoo…**


	5. Battle on the Bridge: The Eyes Awaken!

Arc I – The Times before Seven

**...ooOoo...**

There are many things that can make Naruto Uzumaki act like the hyperactive blond that he used to be. Ramen, training, spending time with his friends and/or discovering a new Seal were the main catalysts to provoke such a reaction under normal circumstances, but Sakura realized that she was going to have to add another reason to the list – getting new weapons.

“I mean, _look_ at them!” said an excited Naruto as he examined one of the gauntlets that Ikorina had left for him two days prior. “The craftsmanship is _incredible!_ These claws are incredibly flexible, and the whole thing has Chakra Seals all over it! I can’t even figure out what kind of Seals they are, there are so many overlapping each other. _Overlapping_ , Sakura, you can’t just _do_ that, whoever drew these was a freakin’ _genius…_ ”

_Boys, and their toys,_ thought Sakura. Absentmindedly, she reached over and smacked the Uzumaki on the back of his head.

“Ouch!” he yelped, surprised, rubbing at the spot with his unoccupied hand, “What was that for?”

“You moved,” came the answer. “It’s hard enough to examine you under _normal_ circumstances, I don’t need you moving around all over the place! Jeez, stay still! And keep your arms up, will you?”

Naruto sighed. “Sorry,” he said, obeying his teammate. “Seriously though, I feel fine! Why do need this thing anyways?”

Sakura rolled her eyes as she kept wrapping the bandages around his torso, making sure that they were tight enough to not loosen themselves with Naruto’s movements throughout the day while at the same time allowing him to breathe normally. “You’re putting too much pressure on your core muscles when you train,” she said. “This is just to make sure that you don’t hurt yourself in case you do something that _might_ just pull a muscle the wrong way. You’d know this if you’d paid attention when I was doing the same thing for Sasuke.”

Naruto rolled his eyes as he set down the gauntlet. “Bah, Sasuke needs bandages because he’s delicate,” he said, “not because of training.”

“If he’s the delicate one, then why are you the one complaining instead of him?” she countered, smirking as she heard her teammate sputter incoherently. “Look, just relax, alright? I’m almost done anyways, you’ll be able to go train in a while.”

“Alright, alright,” relented Naruto, though every now and then his eyes would drift towards his gauntlets in barely restrained excitement.

He was antsy, and with good reason. The stunt he’d pulled two days prior – which Sakura _still_ didn’t think was necessary, regardless of the current situation or summoning rules – had left Naruto with a massive case of chakra exhaustion and a set of various injuries that needed to heal. It was true that most of the heavier wounds had healed by the time that the Tigerfox Boss had brought in her teammate, but there were still other kinds of injuries that needed time to heal; torn muscles, ripped tendons, and cracked bones were dangerous if mistreated, so Sakura had had to juggle her own training and taking care of Naruto, making sure that everything was healing the way it was supposed to be. It had been nerve-wracking, but well worth it. It helped that the blonde had slept right through the whole time – it was common knowledge that the boy _hated_ hospitals, fighting and arguing as much as he could to avoid going to one in the first place. Sakura knew him better than most though, and knew the truth as he’d confessed it to her once.

_“I hate those doctors,”_ he’d said once when they were still in the Academy. _“When I was younger, they wouldn’t treat me. Before I met mom, I remember I went to the hospital with a broken arm – one of the shopkeepers in the market district kicked me out of his store, and he pushed me out. I fell, and I landed badly. I think I was around four or five. Anyways, I go to the hospital, and the doctor in charge takes one look at me, and says, ‘I see no problem. Stop wasting my time.’ Old man Hokage was the one that took care of me that time. He called in an ANBU, and I remember her perfectly – you just can’t forget purple hair or a nice, gentle healer like that.”_

It was those words that had motivated her to become a Medic-nin in the first place. That, and Naruto’s and Sasuke’s penchant for going overboard in their training. That’s why she had promised herself that as soon as she had her genin team, she would train herself so that she could take care of her friends – students of the Academy didn’t have the privileges to access techniques like the Mystical Palm Technique, nor did they have the chakra control or the reserves.

“Done,” said Sakura, tying the last knot on Naruto’s bandages, “You’re good, but don’t overdo it, okay?”

“I’ll try my best,” promised Naruto, putting on an orange shirt. “Thanks Sakura, you’re the best.”

Sakura smiled, getting up from her kneeled position next to him. “I try,” she said. “I’m going to go train. My Double Decapitation Technique is too slow when I do it on the Bridge since stone is much harder than earth.”

“Well, it’s like Sensei said,” said Naruto, getting up from the floor where Sakura had been treating him. He grabbed his coat, one of the three that he’d brought with him on the trip, and slung it on. “Practice makes perfect! You’ll get the Jutsu down, don’t worry.” He grabbed his forearm protectors with his signature blades mounted and began to attach them to his arms. “Are you going to protect Tazuna again today?”

Sakura nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “Kakashi Sensei’s still recovering, but he still isn’t as mobile as he usually is. He’s stopped using the crutches though, which is a good thing, so he’ll be able to keep an eye on Tsunami and Inari here at the house while I protect Tazuna at the bridge.” Sakura frowned. “Not that he needs much protecting over there – he’s got plenty of workers nearby, and I’ve seen them carry over a hundred pounds each with no problem.”

“Any capable ninja would be able to get rid of them,” said Naruto. “Heck, even Gatou’s Ronin wouldn’t have much trouble. As strong as they are, whoever’s going to attack Tazuna is going to be prepared with either enough people and weapons to overwhelm the entire workforce or when he’s alone and vulnerable.”

“Like when Zabuza attacked us,” said Sakura. “It makes sense… when did you get so smart?”

“Ha, ha,” came the answer. By now, Naruto was ready, scooping up his new “toys” as Sakura privately called the new claws that Ikorina had left. “So Sensei’s still here?” asked Naruto as they exited the room.

“He’s around,” said Sakura. “Why?”

Naruto grinned. “You’ll see,” he said mysteriously. Reaching the ground floor, Naruto headed to the house’s kitchen while Sakura headed outside. “See you later Sakura!”

“You too, and good luck!”

Naruto then proceeded to begin his training for the day. Reaching into his coat with his free hand, he pulled out a single small scroll, so brand new that the little 2-by-6 inch chakra paper shined a pristine white. Unfurling it with a single, practiced movement, he placed the open scroll on the table, leaving the gauntlets on the edge while extracting a small inkwell from one of the inside pockets of his coat. Opening the inkwell, he dipped the tips of his index and middle fingers of his right hand into the special ink, flicking them a little to make sure that no extra excess would drip. He then placed both his hands in the Ram seal, making sure that the ink was in contact with both hands, before focusing his chakra.

“ _Sealing Art – Explosive Tag!_ ” he intoned. Immediately, the ink on his fingers became an angry red, laced with his chakra as it was. He then placed the same fingers on the center of the scroll, and immediately characters started to spread outwards towards the edges of the scroll, the kanji for “explode” having been formed in the center. When the characters reached the edges of the scroll, they flashed once, shining a bright red before turning black.

Naruto released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Using chakra to write seals was no easy task, since you had to make sure that the amount of chakra going into every character was specific to the task that the seal was meant to perform. There was also the added inconveniency that one had to learn by heart how to write the seal itself with a normal brush before writing with chakra was even conceivable.

Fortunately, he’d been practicing with making the Explosive Tag for a while. Smiling slightly, he set the tag aside before pulling out another scroll and performing the same technique. Every few scrolls he would dip his fingertips into the inkwell, refreshing the ink when it ran out. Forty-and-some notes later, he ran out of chakra paper, so he began to clean up the slight mess he’d made, making sure to pick up his new gauntlets. He made a mental note to find a way to carry them in a more mobile fashion.

“Hey Sensei,” called Naruto as he walked outside. Kakashi turned to look at him from his position at the dock where he was relaxing quietly with his book.

“Yo, Naruto,” answered Kakashi. “Need some help with whatever you’re working on?”

Naruto shook his head. “No, I just wanted you to have these,” he said, holding out a roll containing ten of the brand new Explosive Tags he’d just made. “They’re brand new, so I think they’ll last until we fight Zabuza again.”

Kakashi nodded, taking the roll his student had just given him. Explosive notes were expensive, but making them was cheap, especially when you have a student who makes them as if they were going out of style. “Thank you, Naruto,” he said, “I’m sure they’ll come in handy. What ink did you use?”

“Just normal ink,” came the answer. “I uh… I kinda ran out of my blood ink a few days before the mission.” Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, forgetting that his hand was stained with ink. “I figured it wasn’t a good idea to use up the rest of my ink and not be able to make more generic seals,” he added.

Mixing one’s blood with the ink used to write seals of any kind would make them both attuned to the user who wrote the seals and more powerful when the person that wrote them used said seals. In some cases, other people would simply not be able to use the seals in question. These were known as Blood Seals, and were handy for making more specialized seals. An example of these is the common Locking Seal, which were usually attuned to specific people using their blood as a key, which would then ensure that only those people would be unlock the seal that protected… whatever they were made for protecting.

“Smart move,” said Kakashi. “Will you be making more?” he asked.

“Nah,” laughed Naruto. “I may or may not have run out of chakra paper.”

“Again, Naruto?”

“Hey, I pay for the stuff!” Kakashi sighed, though inside his mind he was chuckling. _Kids,_ he thought as Naruto laughed with him.

Kakashi held up the roll of notes. “How many explosives did you manage to make?” asked the sensei.

“Enough for all of us to be able to use in the battle,” said Naruto. “I gotta take these to Sasuke and Sakura – you never know when someone may attack.”

_They’re learning,_ thought Kakashi. _People tend to forget that explosive notes can be used as flares or reinforcement signals._ “Then I suggest you find Sakura first, or send a clone,” said Kakashi. “Sasuke’s in the forest, same place as yesterday.”

“Thanks Sensei,” said Naruto. _“Shadow Clone Jutsu!_ ”

As the clones took the roll of explosives, Naruto could only imagine the look in his teammate’s eye. Smirking devilishly, Naruto sent his doppelganger’s off before heading off himself to train.

Zabuza wouldn’t know what hit him.

**…ooOoo…**

“ _Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!_ ”

A massive fireball several times the size of three grown men hurtled through the air, impacting on a grove of already-blackened trees with a mighty explosion that made teeth rattle. Before the jutsu impacted the trees, Sasuke Uchiha had already begun a new set of hand seals, finishing them moments after the fireball had exploded.

“ _Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_ ”

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke placed his right hand in front of his mouth, thumb and index finger forming a circle. The Last Loyal Uchiha breathed through the small hole, and his chakra was molded as it exited his mouth, manifesting itself in a series of small fist-sized fireballs that shot forwards to where the Grand Fireball had impacted. The explosion wasn’t as large, but the area covered was much wider, which was the point – the Grand Fireball was for close- to mid-range high burst damage, while the Phoenix Flower was a mid-range wide-area jutsu intended to force an enemy to either reposition or waste chakra in a protective technique.

Breathing heavily, the dark-haired boy surveyed the damage that the techniques had wrought on the clearing.

_Damage-wise I think I’m ready,_ he thought to himself. _But my limit, it’s decreasing. Back home, I could shoot over thirty of these combos, but here I’m barely making twenty, and today it’s eighteen! Just what is going on with me?_

Sasuke rubbed his eyes, the smoke irritating him slightly as a presence made itself known in the clearing. Five minutes later he was happily patting the roll of explosive notes that Naruto’s clone had given him before dispelling itself.

_This’ll save me some ryo once we get back home,_ he thought in satisfaction as he rested. Thinking about Naruto’s talent in Sealing made him think about the various talents Team 7 had, which of course, brought him to thinking about _his_ current level of power. _Will I be ready for you, Itachi?_ He thought, glancing at the burned trees surrounding him. _If we meet today, tomorrow, or the day after, will I be ready for you? Will I be ready to take my revenge, to ensure that Mother and Father may rest easy?_

He knew the answer to his own question. And it made infuriated him. Clenching his fists, he snarled angrily, his own tiredness and the reality of his situation making him forget how dangerous the combo he was about to pull was to his body in his current state. Hands raised, they flew through hand seals.

“ _Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!_ ” Another fireball, another set of seals. “ _Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_ ”

Looking back on that moment, Sasuke would feel like smacking himself silly when he irrationally added another set of hand seals.

“ _Lightning Style!_ ” he roared, “ _Earth Flash!_ ” Hands crackling with electricity, he slammed his palms into the ground, creating a wave of electricity that surged outwards in all directions, seeking a target to stun and electrify. Finding nothing but vegetable life, the jutsu dispersed, leaving a panting Sasuke. A few seconds later though, he sighed, slumping forwards as he fainted.

So tired was the Uchiha that as he slept, that he didn’t dream as he usually did of the Massacre of his family. He didn’t dream of his brother standing over the corpses of his parents, Itachi’s sword still wet with their- no, _his_ , _Sasuke’s_ mother’s blood. So tired was he that when night fell and the sun rose, he didn’t stir.

Nor did he notice the individual approaching.

Looking down at the sleeping Uchiha, the girl’s expression did not reveal her inner turmoil, even as she glanced around at the devastation Sasuke had caused. A few moments later, however, she sighed, before carefully kneeling at his side.

“Hey,” said the girl, reaching out to shake his shoulder, “wake up.”

As soon as the girl touched him, Sasuke jerked, lifting his face slightly from where it lay on the ground. The Uchiha groaned as he returned to the land of the waking, turning himself over until he lay on his back next to the space he’d fallen asleep in.

The girl giggled at the sight of one half of Sasuke’s face filled with dirt and leaves from where’d it lain on the ground. “Quite a place to fall asleep in,” she said, smiling sweetly at him. “Are you okay?”

Sasuke coughed once, his eyes still closed against the morning glare. “I’m fine,” he said, before groaning once as he tried to move his neck. “At least, I will be in a few minutes,” he added.

“Well, it serves you right for sleeping like you did,” she said with a slight reprimand. The corner of Sasuke’s lip lifted slightly in agreement, before trying to open his eyes to look at the girl. He hissed, however, at the combination of the sun behind the girl and the pain in his neck.

“Ouch,” he said, his right hand moving to the back of his neck.

“Here,” came the girl’s voice, “let me.” A small, gentle hand pushed his away, moving under his hair and massaging the stiff muscles that pained him. Sasuke stiffened, his senses screaming danger, before being relaxed at the ministrations he was receiving. _Dear Kami,_ he thought, _that feels really good…_

He let out a relaxed and satisfied sigh, something that was completely uncharacteristic of him. “Wow,” said the girl, “you are really tense. Tough times?”

“Yeah,” said Sasuke. Finally able to fully open his eyes, he turned his head towards the girl, “I think for once I… uh…”

Sasuke blinked, dark eyes meeting kind, chocolate brown. Long, black hair that looked like it was made of silk framed a pale, but beautiful face. Pink lips were turned down in a concerned frown, though even as he watched they turned upwards into a small smile. Whatever Sasuke was going to say was forgotten, for the rising sun behind the girl gave her an almost ethereal look, magnifying her beauty tremendously.

Unbeknownst to Sasuke, the reason why the girl was smiling was because of the small blush that he now sported on his cheeks.

“That for once you…?” said the girl.

Sasuke blinked, once, twice, before realizing that she was still waiting for him to answer. “Uh, I mean… for once I may have overdone myself last night,” he finished. Pushing himself up, he looked away from her, glancing around the clearing in an attempt to get himself under control. “What time is it?” he asked.

“Pretty early,” came the answer. “I wasn’t expecting to find someone sleeping out here, you know.”

Sasuke chuckled, glancing back at her. “Like I said, I pushed myself a little too much last night,” he said. He held out his hand. “I’m Sasuke.”

“Haku,” came the answer as she took his hand, shaking it. _Soft,_ thought Sasuke, _but there’s a certain roughness as well… could she be…?_

“So what are you doing out here, Haku?” asked Sasuke.

Haku smiled. “Gathering some herbs,” she said, motioning to a small basket behind her that the Uchiha hadn’t noticed until then. “I mostly use them for treating illnesses and wounds,” she said, “though I have to admit, I do make a nice tea as well.”

“Sounds nice,” he said, and it did. “Do you mind if I help out?”

Haku’s smile widened. “Not at all,” she said. The girl then proceeded to point out the specific herbs she was looking for. For a few minutes, there was a certain calmness in the clearing, the two of them working in a comfortable silence, though Sasuke would glance at her out of the corner of his eyes once in a while.

“So what were you doing last night?” asked Haku out of the blue. “Must’ve been something extreme for you to have fallen asleep like you did.”

“I was training,” said Sasuke.

“Oh? So you’re a ninja then,” said Haku. “I noticed your forehead protector.”

“Yeah,” he said, becoming slightly wary. “I’m from Konoha. Are you from Wave Country?” _Your skin is too pale to be from Wave,_ thought Sasuke, _everybody here is at least a little tanned._

“Oh no,” she said, “my father and I are just passing through. We’re merchants, you see, and we were supposed to leave months ago, but my father got sick.”

“Hmph,” answered Sasuke, “that’s why you’re collecting herbs.”

“That’s right,” agreed Haku. “What about you?” she asked, “What are you doing here so far away from home?”

“My team and I are on a mission,” he said.

“So that’s why you were training last night?”

“Yeah,” he said, stopping his work for a moment and glancing at the sky, “I need to get stronger.” He continued to pick herbs.

“You seem pretty strong already,” said Haku, making the Uchiha blush slightly, though the girl didn’t notice. “Why train more? Why do you need to get stronger?”

The face of Itachi Uchiha flashed in Sasuke’s mind, making his fist clench. Out of the corner of her eye, Haku noticed his entire demeanor change, going from relaxed to tense, like a cat about to pounce, or… a prey under the eye of its predator.

_He shakes with rage and hatred,_ thought Haku, _but… it’s not fueled by either emotion. No, he’s just_ sad _._

“I need to get stronger,” said Sasuke, “because I need to kill someone.”

Haku frowned. The boy was too young to be thinking like that. “May I ask why?” she prodded, putting down her basket and turning to look at Sasuke. He was trembling slightly, his hands shaking as he stood unmoving. Feeling her heart twinge at the sheer sadness of the picture she saw, Haku reached out with one hand and touched one of Sasuke’s clenched ones. “I’m sorry,” she said truthfully, “I shouldn’t have asked-”

“No,” came the interruption, “it- it’s fine.” Sasuke released the breath he didn’t know he was holding. “He’s my brother,” he said. “He killed my entire family right before my eyes.”

Haku gasped. “Dear Kami,” she said, her free hand going to cover her mouth. _He’s just like me,_ she thought.

Sasuke chuckled, dark laughter as it was. “Yeah,” he said, still not looking at her, “Now you know why I need to train, to get stronger. It’s so that when the time comes… I can kill him.”

Haku hesitated before answering. “I do understand,” she said, meaning the words. “But…” she hesitated, weighing her words carefully, wanting to help the boy before her as much as she could. “I think… I think you’re fighting for the wrong reasons.”

Sasuke’s head whirled, his eyes meeting hers in a flash. “Explain,” he said, his tone dangerous.

“Well, I mean…” she bit her lip nervously. “What I meant was that right now, you’re fueling yourself with hatred, with a desire for revenge. True, you’ll grow strong if you stay like this, but…” Haku glanced to the ground for a few moments before looking Sasuke in the eye. “The only way for a person to grow truly, genuinely strong,” she said, “is if they’re fighting to protect someone precious to them.”

Sasuke blinked in surprise. “Someone precious…” he said.

Haku nodded. “Yes,” she said, “Someone you care about, someone you wouldn’t want your brother to be near, someone that you couldn’t bear to lose… when you fight to protect them, when you fight for them… _that_ is when you are truly strong.”

Sasuke closed his eyes, looking up to the sky once more. _Hey Sasuke_ , came his teammates voice from an old memory, _this is Sakura. She’s different from the other girls, I promise!_

Another memory, a few days after Naruto had introduced Sakura but he had ignored the both of them. _Hi, Sasuke… I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for your family. My Mom told me that today’s the anniversary of what happened… I- I brought some flowers._

_…Hmph._

_…Can I sit with you?_

_…Yeah. Thanks._

Unbeknownst to him, Sasuke smiled. He’d been in the cemetery, kneeling in front of his parent’s tombstones, when Sakura had found him. They’d been friends since then, because she was the first person to actually care about his family, and the tragedy that’d occurred. Others pretended to care out of sheer greed, like the civilian councilmen, or simply didn’t understand, like his fan girls – cue shudder – and most of his classmates. But Sakura… she somehow knew, saw, felt his pain.

Sasuke looked back at Haku, who was staring at him with an unwavering gaze that he found captivating. “Yeah,” he said. “I understand what you mean. And you’re right, I do have someone precious.”

More than one, really. Sakura and Naruto especially, but recently he could honestly say that Kakashi-Sensei had managed to become close to him. Not even Iruka-Sensei had shared that closeness with him, the scarred Chūnin relating the best with Naruto. Heck, even Anko had found a way into the boy’s heart somehow, now that Sasuke realized he even had a heart to begin with. Naruto’s adoptive mother had her own special flair that he couldn’t help but find admirable, her prowess as a Kunoichi and her caring nature for her son and his friends all but sealing Sasuke’s respect for her.

And the thought of Itachi coming anywhere near any of them was even more terrifying that the idea of himself dying at the hands of his brother without avenging his family.

Without realizing it, Sasuke’s fists tightened as he looked at Haku. “I understand,” he said. Sasuke looked at Haku in the eye, and in that instant, they shared a moment of acknowledgement, of similar strength. In that moment, Sasuke confirmed that Haku was the fake Hunter-nin, and that as an adversary, he would not insult her by not giving it his best when they fought. A single look transmitted this, and with another, Haku both acknowledged his decision and gave her response – she would proudly fight him to defend her precious person, and like him, avoid insult.

“Thank you,” said Sasuke, completely at ease even as he stood in front of his enemy. “Thank you for helping me understand.”

Haku smiled, her eyes shining with gentleness. “No,” she said as she squeezed the hand she still held, something Sasuke hadn’t noticed. “Thank _you_ ,” she continued as she let go of his hand, “for listening.”

Sasuke paused as she started to move away. “But you haven’t told me anything, miss,” he said, her back already to him, her basket in arm.

Haku glanced back at him, her smile ever-present. “No,” she agreed, “not yet. But I will.” With that, she continued to walk away, only to stop at the edge of the clearing, her pink kimono swaying in the breeze. “Oh, and by the way,” she added, “I’m a boy.”

Sasuke paused, before shaking his head. “No,” he said. “Not possible.”

Haku graced him with one last glance. “Oh? What makes you so sure?” she asked.

Sasuke smirked. “No boy could ever be as pretty as you,” he said. He was rewarded with Haku’s porcelain-like face erupting in a fiery blush, the redness of her cheeks contrasting with her pale skin.

“W-well,” she said, standing a bit straighter and looking anywhere but at him, “I guess that ruse can be thrown out the metaphorical window. Thank you, Sasuke… goodbye.”

Sasuke blinked, and Haku was gone, wisps of mist being the only traces of her presence in the clearing. _Fast,_ he thought. A few moments later, what he’d said caught up to him and he groaned, palming his face. _I can’t believe I called her pretty,_ he thought to himself. _Kami forbid Kakashi-Sensei or Naruto or Sakura ever find out…_ Sasuke shivered at the thought of his pink-haired teammate finding out. Yes, he cared for Sakura – Naruto always exaggerated things of course, Uchiha’s didn’t have crushes – but there was no getting around it; somehow, in the few moments they’d spent together, Haku had managed to chip a place of her own in his heart.

He looked forward to seeing her again, whether in battle or out of it.

**…ooOoo…**

Seven days after the first battle against Zabuza had come and gone, and with the sunrise on the seventh day, Naruto Uzumaki stood over the prone bodies of the two Ronin Gatou had sent to kidnap either Tsunami or Inari.

“Tch,” said Naruto, “I can’t believe I overslept. Why the hell didn’t anybody wake me up?” Naruto shook his head, signaling for his clones to deal with the Ronin. The blonde glanced at the nearly-complete bridge in the distance, frowning in worry as he saw mist beginning to creep over the middle.

“Crap,” he said, “Zabuza is making his move.” He glanced at the clones, “You two, you’re in charge. I’ll leave more clones, protect Tsunami and Inari at all costs.”

“Yes, boss,” answered the clones as Naruto made more appear out of thin air. The squad of ten vanished in a flicker of speed a moment later as the original returned to the house. Walking in, he glanced once at the hugging mother and son, making sure that they were alright before going upstairs and into the room he’d slept in. Moving decisively, he grabbed his pack and pulled out one of the Fox claw gauntlets Ikorina had given him after passing the test, the name of his mother engraved on the back of the gauntlets.

“Fox Style Taijutsu…” said Naruto, looking at his mother’s old weapons before looking at his own bladed gauntlets, “or Snake Style Taijutsu… Decisions, decisions…”

As it turned out, Ikorina’s test involved one simple factor – the summoner had to have the capability of learning the Tigerfox’s special fighting style, which involved striking a single spot with light but extremely fast and strong hits as quickly as possible. The style was created to be similar to how foxes fought – fast but quick bites and strikes, jumping back out of the enemy’s range before they could retaliate. It was vastly different from Snake Style Taijutsu, which involved the fighter remaining in close range with the limbs swinging and twisting around the target; it was a momentum-based style, which suited his bladed forearm protectors well. Fox Style Taijutsu, however, synchronized _extremely_ well with his mother’s gauntlets.

Not to mention the other abilities Ikorina had taught him in their crash-course over the last few days…

_They know about my forearm protectors, but they haven’t seen the blades yet,_ thought Naruto. _It sucks that I can’t wear both sets yet – I’ll need to modify one set so that they fit together or something. I’ll only be able to wear one to the battle today. So which ones do I take?_

It took less than a second, but Naruto made his decision. Taking off his forearm protectors, Naruto put on the Fox Claw gauntlets, the clawed fingers making it difficult and forcing the blonde to summon a clone to help him. _Foxfire will synchronize well with my wind element,_ thought Naruto, _and I’m just as good with these things as I am with my forearm protectors. Ikorina’s a slave-driver, I swear._

Gauntlets secured, Naruto leaped out of the second story window of Tazuna’s house, taking off at a dead sprint towards the bridge and missing Inari’s shout of good luck.

_I really hope I’m not too late,_ he thought, his fists clenching as he ran.

He wasn’t.

A few minutes later, he’d arrived at the bridge, glancing at the dead and unconscious workers that littered the area. _At least we don’t have to worry about them being in the way,_ he thought morbidly. He kept running towards the mist, but before he entered it he jumped over the bridge’s railing, sticking to the side with chakra. He wasn’t an idiot – he wasn’t going to jump into a battle without the proper intel as long as he could help it.

As he approached an area where the mist was lighter, he was graced with the vision of two groups facing off – Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura and Tazuna on one end, and Zabuza and the fake Hunter-nin on the other almost twenty feet away.

Taking care that neither group noticed him, he went through five hand seals, channeling a small amount of chakra into the jutsu.

“ _Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu,_ ” he whispered, placing his hand against the bridge and allowing the sealing array to spread in a small area. With a small puff of smoke, a small Tigerfox kit appeared, looking at Naruto for instructions.

“Hey Ikoro,” said Naruto as quietly as possible.

“Master Naruto,” came the answer, the summon’s large ears flapping slightly in the wind. “What is your bidding?”

“What are they saying?” he asked, motioning with his head towards the two groups.

Ikoro’s ears twitched forward, and when he spoke, his voice was not his own.

“Haku,” said Ikoro in Zabuza’s voice, “You know the kid?”

“Yes,” continued the Tigerfox, this time in the Hunter-nin’s voice, “we’ve met. He was quite pleasant.”

“And you didn’t kill him? You’re too kind, Haku. He’s all yours to deal with.”

“He’s improved since the last time we saw them fight. He took out your clones rather quickly. Even if they only had ten percent of the jutsu’s true strength, it was quite impressive.”

“That move gave us the advantage. Use it.”

“Right.”

Confused at the advantage that Zabuza spoke of, Naruto watched as Haku simply vanished from sight. Mirroring his opponent, Sasuke did the same in a movement that spoke of his sheer speed. Naruto smirked, acknowledging his teammate’s strength – while Sasuke was much faster than him, Naruto had the advantage of having his regeneration, making him much more tankier, so to speak, than his teammate, making their practice spars battles of attrition almost.

Haku and Sasuke met with a clash, senbon needle against Kunai knife before separating. Again and again they clashed, attacking and blocking each other with quick strikes. Naruto was amazed at the fact that Haku’s Senbon had broken yet – even though they were usually made out of quality steel, the hunter-nin’s weapon was a relatively thin one compared to Sasuke’s standard Kunai knife. Suddenly, it seemed as if the two fighting ninja had reached a sort-of stalemate, Sasuke’s and Haku’s arms trembling from the amount of force they were exerting as they pushed at each other, needle against knife.

That was when Naruto saw the first of the many surprises of the day.

**…ooOoo…**

“We want the bridge builder, not you,” said Haku, her voice strained as she held firm her needle with one hand, Sasuke’s knife making a grating noise against it. “Please, if you just leave I won’t be forced to kill you.”

Sasuke smiled sadly at her, his eyes bright with excitement. “I can’t,” he said. “Weren’t you the one that told me to fight for my precious people? If I give up now, I’m doing worse than turning my back on my family, on my brother’s crime. No, I can’t give up – today’s battle is just the first of many to come, battles that will determine how much my strength will grow!”

Even though the girl was hearing her mask, Sasuke could tell that she was mirroring his expression. “Then I hope you can keep up with my speed,” she said. At Sasuke’s inquisitive look, she elaborated, “I’ve gained to key elements since this battle started. The first is that we’re surrounded by water.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw what she was referring to – the water that remained from the Zabuza clones he’d destroyed. _Easily solved with a Fire Jutsu, or even my low-powered Lightning Jutsu,_ he thought, _Not that she needs to know._ “And the other?” he asked.

“I have one of your hands occupied,” she answered. “Therefore, you only have one free hand to defend yourself.” The next Sasuke knew, Haku’s free hand – her left – was in front of her sternum, flashing in one-handed seals.

A moment later, Haku was done. “ _Secret Jutsu: Ice Style,_ ” said Haku, “ _A Thousand Needles of Death!_ ”

One of Haku’s feet tapped once against the wet stone, and the ripple that was produced lifted the water up into the air in the shape of a dome surrounding the two. The water shifted, turning into hundreds of Senbon-shaped needles that were pointed directly at their target – Sasuke. The Uchiha quickly placed his hand in a Seal, focusing his chakra towards his feet as the jutsu needles began to move. With a flash, he pushed upwards and off the ground, his chakra producing a blast that pushed Haku away as well.

Once in the air, Sasuke made the seals for a Great Fireball, firing it towards where the girl would land from her impromptu shove. She saw it coming, of course, and dodged accordingly, only to find the Uchiha appear _behind_ her in an attempt to stab her. She spun around, blocking his first strike with her arm before ducking the knife he’d thrown with his other hand, the motion having been hidden by his moving body. Unfortunately, Haku realized that her move had been a mistake when Sasuke’s foot snapped out in a strong kick that sent her flying towards a surprised Zabuza, landing at his feet.

“You made a mistake when you insulted my cute little genin,” Kakashi called out to the Ex-Swordsman of the Mist. “My students are easily the strongest fighters of their generation. Sasuke’s our patented Assassin; he packs the team’s damage. Sakura here,” nodding at the girl where she was protecting Zabuza, “is out support, you could say, as well as the brains of the team. And last but not least, the last member of our team is the Number one, most unpredictable hyperactive knucklehead ninja, of the Hidden Leaf – Naruto Uzumaki.”

Zabuza, in response, began to chuckle. He knew what the other ninja had done; Kakashi had revealed the most obvious factors in the team’s composition without compromising whatever extra abilities they could’ve had. Outnumbered and possibly outgunned; they needed to end this. _Fast_.

“Haku if we let this draw out we may end up being the victims here,” said Zabuza. “So _finish it!_ ”

Haku nodded in response, her chakra flaring as she began to gather it in preparation of a technique. Her hands came into a Seal that Sasuke didn’t recognize from his position, meaning that the technique was probably another Secret Jutsu. Either way, just by the amount of chakra Sasuke could tell that it didn’t spell good news for him.

“I’m sorry that it’s come to this,” called out Haku, her head bowed as the air became almost frigid. “ _Secret Jutsu!_ ”

Ice began to grow out of the water behind Sasuke, and as he turned around, he was greeted by the sight of a five-foot tall mirror made out of solid ice. He looked around, and saw more ice gathering in a circle surrounding him.

“ _Ice Style: Crystal Ice Mirrors!_ ”

Within moment, and before Sasuke could even attempt at an escape, the Jutsu was finished. On all sides and above him, there were thick mirrors that made up a dome surrounding the Uchiha. Each mirror was of the same size and thickness, and Sasuke’s grip on his knife tensed as he glanced around him. Suddenly the mirrors flashed once, and Haku’s visage was suddenly looking down at him in each of the mirrors. A glance towards Zabuza revealed that the real Haku had vanished.

_Where’d she go?_ He thought alarmed before looking at the mirrors apprehensively. _Could she be…?_ “Haku,” he said, “are you _inside_ the mirrors?”

Every image of the girl nodded once. “Yes,” she said. “It is my bloodline, a power given to me and me alone – the power to manipulate Ice as an element. Ice Release; It is my curse, my greatest ability, and it shall be your downfall. I am sorry, Sasuke.”

The young man smirked. “Giving up on me already?” he said, enjoying the banter and ignoring the curious looks that both he and Haku were receiving from their audience.

Haku laughed, the sound hollow and not at all amused. “You have not experience the power of my jutsu,” she said.

“No technique is unbeatable,” refuted Sasuke.

“Perhaps,” agreed Haku, her reflections holding several Senbon each. “But at your level of power I believe that you will find it difficult, if not impossible.”

Sasuke opened his mouth to answer, but whatever was going to say was lost as his body exploded in pain. It was crippling, sharp pinpricks of agony all over his body as the shock forced him to go down to a knee, gasping as he looked down at himself, bewildered, not even noticing when his knife was knocked out of his hand. Senbon needles were stuck in various points all over his body, the metal shining in the dull light.

_H-how!?_ Thought Sasuke, looking up at Haku in her mirrors. _I didn’t even see her throw them, how is she so fast!?_

“Now you see what speed _really_ means,” said Haku. “I am so sor-”

“Sasuke, catch!”

Both Haku and Sasuke were drawn by the sound of Sakura’s shout. The pink-haired Kunoichi, bless her, had somehow gotten her hands on the Uchiha’s knife and had thrown it towards the dome. Sasuke caught on to the ruse however, and as soon as Haku emerged from one of her mirrors to catch the knife – did her image disappear from the rest of her mirrors? It seemed like it – the Uchiha bolted towards one of the gaps between the mirrors, hoping to escape.

Unfortunately, Zabuza’s apprentice also caught on, so as soon as the knife was in her hands, she vanished back into her mirror, her visage appearing once more in the rest of them, and threw it to its owner. She didn’t aim to kill, however, and so the kunai only managed to trip the Uchiha, making him fall short of his goal.

Tired, and completely spent, Sasuke could only watch as Haku stepped out of her mirrors and moved to stand in front of him. Looking up, Sasuke’s eyes caught on to the gleam of deadly metal in the girl’s hands.

“It’s over,” said Haku. “Any last words?”

Sasuke didn’t answer for a few moments. “Yeah,” he said. He glanced up at her, looking straight into the brown eyes visible through the slits of her mask, and said the words that years later still made him shake his head in embarrassment. “I’m glad that I died at the hands of someone as pretty as you.”

The way that Haku’s posture changed was enough of a reaction to stoke Sasuke’s ego. Sure, he may have died, but hey, man points!

Still, that wasn’t the reason for his embarrassment. That came in crashing through one of the mirrors less than a half-second later. With a resounding _boom_ , Naruto Uzumaki had broken cover and charged at the mirrors holding his teammate imprisoned, his mother’s gauntlets leading the charge. The impressive thing, however, wasn’t the entrance itself – it was _how_ he’d broken in. One of Kushina Uzumaki’s gauntlets was wreathed in bright-blue flames, the fire escaping through the claws and surrounding Naruto’s right arm up to his elbow in flames. This was the power of Foxfire – the last, and most vital technique, that Ikorina had hammered into Naruto’s head in the few days they’d trained together.

“Get away from my teammate!” Naruto’s roar was accompanied by his other gauntlet, this one not surrounded by Foxfire, coming up in a clawed fist and being slammed right into Haku’s chest, forcing the air out of the girl’s lungs and sending her flying out of the dome through one of the gaps between the Ice Mirrors.

The most immediate threat taken care of, Naruto glanced down at his downed, no pun intended, teammate and smirked. “Need any help?” he asked.

“Shut up and get us out of here,” came the irate answer. The blonde was already moving, however, so by the time Sasuke had finished speaking Naruto had already slung Sasuke’s arm over his shoulder while his free hand was in his favorite hand seal. “ _Shadow Clone Jutsu!_ Give us some cover guys!”

“ _Right!_ ” came the answer as the ten clones moved in a defensive formation around Sasuke and the real Naruto.

“Alright Sasuke, hold on,” said Naruto. “We’re gonna get out of here, believe- _Argh,_ son of a _bitch!_ ”

“What happened?” asked Sasuke.

“My arm,” said Naruto, motioning at his right arm with his head. Sasuke’s eyes widened at the sight – the Foxfire had burned itself out quickly, but had left behind considerable damage on the blonde’s arm. The gauntlet itself was pristine, completely unmarked, but where Naruto’s arm had been unprotected burns were covering every single inch of exposed skin. “The Foxfire,” gasped Naruto, “I poured in too much chakra!”

“And why would you do that?” asked Sasuke as they began to move towards the opening his teammate had created, the clones moving with them.

“Because I didn’t know how hard those mirrors were and I didn’t want to take any risks!” came the answer. “I had the element of surprise, and I wasn’t going to waste it on a second try. Besides,” the blonde’s prankster smirk returned, and Sasuke was struck by a terrible feeling as Naruto continued, “I think it was all worth hearing you say what you said. ‘As pretty as you…’ Sasuke, you animal!” The smirk became predatory. “Now what would Sakura say to that, I wonder…?”

Hence, the embarrassing moment.

The Uchiha glared at his teammate. “Not. A word,” he said, the words dripping with a hidden threat. “Anything, and I destroy the Ramen stash you brought on this trip, got it?”

Naruto glared back. “You do that, and I tell Kakashi that you’re a closet fan of _Make-Out Paradise,_ ” he counter-offered. “ _And_ I’ll make sure that Sakura hears about it.”

Well, he had him there. “Asshole,” said Sasuke, knowing he’d lost, “you win.”

“Thank you,” said Naruto, “Glad that you acknowledge my superiority- _holy crap!_ ”

Sasuke had caught on to the threat as well, and both genin jumped backwards as the clones around them exploded, having been forcefully dispelled by the multiple Senbon that had been thrown by Haku, who was now standing right where they’d hoped to escape through.

“Dammit,” said Naruto, as he and Sasuke stood back-to-back, “she’s _fast!_ I didn’t even see her coming, none of my clones did!”

“I know,” said Sasuke, glancing at the gap as a new mirror replaced the previously broken one. “We have a serious problem.”

“Yeah,” said Naruto as their opponent was mirrored once more. “We do.”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed as he glanced from mirror to mirror, noticing the delay in which Haku’s image appeared in each one. _That’s it!_ he realized, _she’s not cloning herself! She can go from mirror to mirror in an instant, but it’s so fast that it looks like she’s in each one!_

“Naruto,” he said. “I know how we can beat her.”

“I’m all ears,” came the answer.

“I need cover,” he said, “but more importantly, I need time.”

He felt Naruto nod. “You got it! _Shadow Clone Jutsu!_ Go for the gaps!”

Naruto’s clones burst into motion, making a break for freedom, but Haku immediately moved into action. Now that he knew how the Jutsu worked, Sasuke could actually glimpse the girl travelling from mirror to mirror and throwing her needles in midair. Even more impressive was the fact that after each clone was punctured, Haku’s next move included catching the still-airborne needle and throwing it at another clone, going through the process again and again until it was only Sasuke and the real Naruto who were receiving the blows.

“Argh, dammit!” yelled Naruto, attempting to block the attacks with his gauntlets but failing. “Doesn’t she run out of ammo?!”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. _Naruto’s right,_ he thought, _but that’s because she’s recycling the needles. And she’s not losing any because they’re only scratching us! She’s missing our vital spots on purpose! But why!?_

_“And you didn’t kill him? You’re too kind, Haku.”_

Sasuke’s eyes widened. _That’s right,_ he remembered, _Zabuza said that she was kind… I feel really bad for this, but I think that we have to exploit that somehow – it’ll be our only chance to survive this!_

“Naruto, summon more clones!”

The only response he got was the appearance of ten more clones. This time, Sasuke’s eyes followed the bursts of smoke as the clones were forcefully dispelled, and each time he could see Haku that much more clearer.

“One last time!”

Another surge of clones. Sasuke’s eyes flickered – Haku moved out of a mirror on the left throwing her needle to a clone in the center, where it was promptly caught and thrown towards the right, close to Sasuke – _there!_

His hands flew through the seals. “ _Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!_ ” he roared, and a fireball shot out of his mouth, flying forwards through the air-

-and straight into the girl’s flight path as she appeared where the Uchiha had predicted. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you saw it, Sasuke had sacrificed power for speed when he’d performed the jutsu, so it didn’t harm her that much.

Unfortunately, it also had the side-effect of spurring the girl into action. She’d been holding back during the whole fight, but if Sasuke was starting to catch up to her then she was going to be in serious trouble. For all of her training, she was only stronger than her opponent as long as she was faster than them – her entire training was focused on speed, not endurance and strength.

“Nice one, Sasuke!” said Naruto upon seeing the hit. The blonde glanced at his teammate with an ecstatic grin, “One last time, we’re almost out of this!”

_He doesn’t want to show it,_ thought Sasuke, _but he’s exhausted. The Shadow Clone Jutsu takes up so much chakra, dividing the user’s chakra equally among all the clones, and with the amount that Naruto can spam them… it’s a miracle he hasn’t collapsed yet._ Sasuke smirked, _But thanks to him, I’ve figured it out. We can do this._

With another set of hand seals, ten more clones appeared in a cloud of smoke, the real Naruto hidden among them. Sasuke had vanished as well, taking advantage of the temporary cover to henge into one of the clones so as to hopefully confuse the Hunter-nin.

They almost made it this time. One by one the clones began to fall, until Haku tried to stab one of them and it didn’t vanish. The real Naruto smirked, catching the senbon with his bare hand as he looked through the slits of Haku’s mask and stared right into the girls surprised eyes.

“Sasuke, now!”

“ _Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!_ ”

Haku’s head snapped towards the remaining clone, who was really the Uchiha in disguise. Already the jutsu was on a collision course with the Ice user, so the girl immediately – somehow – readjusted her flight in midair and artfully dodged the fireball-

_“Wind Style: Gale Palm!”_

-only to be sent flying away as a massive gust of air hit her dead-on, courtesy of the Uzumaki. If she though that it was over, however, she was mistaken; Sasuke had already blurred into motion as soon as he’d fired his jutsu and was waiting for Haku, trusting, knowing instinctively that his teammate would do his part.

It was at that moment that Haku discovered the lethality of the infamous Uchiha taijutsu art – the Interceptor style. As soon as she’d seen him, she attempted to strike first, the tips of her fingers poised for a direct strike to his sternum, only to find his arm already blocking the strike and pushing her arm away, leaving her chest open. Haku spun with the movement, bringing her other hand up to defend, but again, the move was blocked, followed by a swift punch that pushed out all the air from the Ice user’s lungs. Since she’d been in midair already, Haku was sent back, but she wasn’t going down without a fight as evidence by the kick she attempted after being punched. Sasuke didn’t agree with this, grabbing her by the ankle and swinging her around once, letting go and sending her flying.

She was out of the mirrors. She was in their territory now.

Winded by the swift blows the Uchiha had delivered, Haku was woefully unprepared for Naruto’s attack. Two gauntlets found themselves buried in the girl’s chest has Naruto slammed them downwards in a double fist, the girl crashing to the unforgiving stone with an _oomph_. The hit managed to wake her up, so to speak, so when Naruto tried to press his advantage, she rolled away, flipping up backwards and dodging the shuriken that the blonde had thrown at her. She whirled, catching Sasuke’s knife with a senbon, but the Uchiha’s leg snapped out and kicked at her knee, sending her to the ground once more. Naruto showed up then with a snap kick at her face, but missed as Haku managed to bend backwards while sending the senbon she’d used to block Sasuke’s knife into the Uzumaki’s other leg. Continuing with the momentum, Haku placed her hands on the bridge and flipped herself up into the air and over the Uchiha, a shower of needles accompanying her flight.

Haku’s next surprise occurred when Sasuke didn’t dodge the needles, but blocked _every single one of them_ , even managing to send a couple back at her. She did the same, blocking with one hand while making hand seals with the other, the act making the Uchiha’s eyes widen.

_“Water Style: Water Bullet!”_ The jutsu was launched point blank at the Uchiha, but Sasuke had managed to fire off his own jutsu as well, the Grand Fireball colliding with the Water Bullet and making the two attacks cancel each other out in an explosive cloud of vapor.

When the steam cleared, both Naruto and Sasuke were unsurprised to see Haku’s visage repeated over and over in her mirrors.

“So _close_ …” muttered Naruto, the blonde gritting his teeth in irritation. “What does it take to bring her down!? Seriously!”

Sasuke’s answer was to scowl, his eyes going from mirror to mirror. They’d definitely done a number on Haku – the girl was breathing heavily, her images hunched over and her clothes singed from the various fireballs and hits she’d taken. Sasuke could also see how her hands shook from the pain of the injuries she’d suffered in their clash – she definitely wasn’t going to let herself get caught out of position like that again.

“She’s slowing down,” said Sasuke. “Her chakra has limits too – she won’t be able to keep this jutsu up forever. Still, we should avoid using chakra ourselves – it’ll only help her now.”

“Yeah,” Naruto gave his agreement. “We need to get ourselves out of the dome whenever she’s not inside her mirrors. She slows down when she’s outside of them, it’s our only chance, believe it!”

“Right,” said Sasuke, “split!”

The two boys disappeared, running in opposite directions towards the gaps in the mirrors. Naruto summoned two clones to cover him, wincing slightly at the use of chakra as he ran. The three ran side by side, the clones looking for where Haku could be while the original looked at the gap.

_I can make it,_ he thought, _I have to!_

_Poof!_ One clone down. The information flashing through their minds through the Shadow Clone Jutsu’s secret of passing information learned upon death, the remaining clone and Naruto jumped upwards, dodging the hailstorm of needles that were aimed to their feet. Suddenly, the clone reached out, grabbed Naruto by the arm, and pulled him sideways and out of the way of another barrage of needles. The clone then pushed Naruto towards the gap, just before succumbing to another needle straight through the neck.

Five feet away.

“Naruto, watch out!”

Two Haku’s were staring at him from the mirrors next to the gap Naruto had been running for. The blonde grit his teeth, sending a burst of chakra to his feet for speed, rushed forwards towards freedom-

-and slammed right into the girl’s leg, the kick sending him flying back to where his teammate had also been disabled.

The blonde landed on his back, his head slamming onto the unforgiving stone. His chest heaved with greedy breaths as he tried to stay conscious, but he was just so, so tired. A glance to Sasuke revealed that the Uchiha was in the same boat as him, though the boy’s eyes were flickering from mirror to mirror-

Since when were his teammates eyes _red!?_

Suddenly, Sasuke moved. A knife was drawn and used to block another hail of needles aimed towards the pair, Naruto rolling to dodge as well. Naruto’s eyes moved towards the lone image of Haku, who was in the mirror in front of him- no, now she was in the one above it- now next to _that_ one-

That was when he saw it.

_The… the mirrors!_ He thought as he picked himself up and stood back-to-back with Sasuke, _They shine a little just before she appears in them! Why didn’t I notice that before?_

“Hey Sasuke,” he said, “I think I figured out her jutsu. Oh, and congrats on getting the Sharingan.”

“Thanks,” came the answer, “But about the jutsu?”

“The mirrors,” he said, “they’re shining just before she appears in them!”

A moment of silence. “Naruto, I can honestly say that I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said.

“You don’t see…?”

“I see her – my eyes are fast enough to track her from mirror to mirror, even though my Sharingan is incomplete,” said Sasuke. “But that shining you’re talking about? No idea.”

Naruto grunted his understanding. “In that case, I’ll just warn you whenever she’s about to move-”

Whatever he was about to say was lost as a scream echoed through the mist.

_“Sakura!”_ yelled the two boys, their heads snapping towards the origin of the sound only to realize their mistake a moment later. Naruto’s eyes widened when he lost sight of Haku, nor could he see the mirrors’ tell as to where she would appear.

“Sasuke, your side-!” he yelled, already turning, when he felt himself being pushed to the side by Sasuke. With a grunt, he fell to the ground, and he looked up, bewildered-

Everything stopped.

Needles. Needles everywhere. That was the only thing that Naruto could see. They littered his teammate’s body – his arms, chest, legs, everywhere. A few feet away, Haku was on the floor, groaning as she lay unmoving.

“S-Sasuke?” asked Naruto from his place on the ground. His eyes were wide, stuck on the blood dripping from the needles stuck in the Uchiha’s body.

Even as he remained standing, Sasuke was shaking from all the pain of his injuries. He turned his head to look at Naruto, blood dripping from his lips as he coughed up blood.

“You-,” Sasuke groaned, “you should see the look on your face… you look like a total loser.”

Naruto pushed himself up on his arms. They both knew it – the hit Sasuke had taken was lethal. He wasn’t walking away from this. So the question that remained was… “Why?” he asked. “Why did you save me?”

Sasuke took a moment to answer. “I don’t know,” he said. “No, I _do_ know… you’re my friend, Naruto. You and Sakura saved me from myself, from the darkness that Itachi left inside of me. I… she helped me too, Naruto,” Sasuke nodded at Haku. “She’s fighting for someone… don’t blame her. Don’t blame yourself either… I… I just wasn’t…”

“Don’t you dare!” said Naruto, getting up and catching Sasuke as he fell. “Don’t you dare blame yourself either! Don’t you dare say that you weren’t strong enough!” Why was his teammate becoming blurry? Naruto blinked, and realized that tears were streaming from his eyes. Why did this have to happen? This was supposed to be their first real mission!

“I…” said Naruto, struggling not to cry, “I didn’t ask for to save me… ya know?”

Sasuke gave a weak chuckle. “There wasn’t any time to think…” he said, his voice becoming weaker and weaker. “…my body… just moved on its own… couldn’t let it happen again…”

That was when Naruto realized it. Sasuke had seen Itachi Uchiha kill his entire family right before his very eyes. To see the same thing happen again, only with his friends… yeah, Naruto would’ve done the same in a heartbeat.

“He’s still out there…” continued Sasuke, “My brother… I’d promised myself that I’d stay alive long enough to…” Sasuke coughed, more blood dripping down his lips. “Promise me, Naruto… promise you’ll stay alive… protect Sakura… don’t let your dream die…”

Naruto nodded amidst his tears. “I will,” he swore. “I don’t break my promises. I promise, believe it!”

Sasuke smiled. “Good…” Sasuke closed his eyes, and with a final breath, let himself go.

Naruto stared at his teammate’s body, his eyes unseeing even as tears streamed to the ground. He closed his eyes, a choked sob escaping his clenched teeth as he hugged the body tightly. “Sasuke Uchiha…” he began to speak, “The last Survivor of the Uchiha Clan, member of Team Seven, and more importantly, the man I considered my brother in all but blood… Killed in Action. May the gods grant him eternal peace.”

But they wouldn’t, he knew. Not because they wouldn’t grant it, but because Sasuke wouldn’t want it. Not until Itachi Uchiha was dead.

Naruto swore. “I swear, Sasuke,” he said, “I’ll kill Itachi for you. I swear it.”

Naruto then began to pull the needles from his teammate’s body, simply because he felt like making Sasuke comfortable. When he was done, he then placed the body on the ground, kneeling at Sasuke’s side, staring at the body.

“Is this the first time you see a friend die?” came Haku’s voice. Naruto didn’t look up, his blonde locks covering his eyes. “This is a part of what it means to be a ninja,” continued Haku. “He died honorably, protecting someone precious to him. He was a true ninja. He-”

“Shut up.”

Haku started at the tone of Naruto’s voice. It wasn’t that filled with anger or hate, it was simply… dead. No emotion whatsoever.

“You’ll pay for this.”

The same delivery, the same tone. It was as if Naruto was simply stating the obvious, like it was a done fact. Haku felt a chill run down her spine. _Is… is this fear I’m feeling?_ She thought.

That was when it began to happen. Steam rose from the Uzumaki’s body as red chakra began to seep from his skin, the energy tinted with hatred and rage, scratching at the stone and carving grooves in it as it circled around its master. Naruto’s head snapped up, and Haku felt herself quake, not in fear, but in stark terror – his eyes had become like an animal’s, with a slit in the middle, the color red as blood.

_“I’m going to kill you!”_ This time, there was emotion in Naruto’s voice. The same emotions of the chakra made Naruto’s voice forceful and dark, and Haku knew in her heart that today would be the last day of her life.

Naruto stood, his knees bent and his hands shaking as the needles littering his body began to fall out, the wounds healing in an instant. He stood, looking at Haku straight in her eyes, and she whimpered. Whatever resistance there was in her body fled, her instincts screaming at her to run, her fight-or-flight survival response forcing her to choose the latter. She turned away, jumping into a mirror and going through it materializing on the other side, her feet touching the stone and taking off in a run-

There was a roar behind her, the sound of an explosion and glass breaking, and a piece of one of her now-broken mirrors hit her in the back of her head, and Haku knew darkness.

**…ooOoo…**

_Drip._

_Drip._

_Drip._

Naruto blinked and looked around. He was standing in darkness, his feet submerged in water. In front and behind him he could see stone walls, but to the sides, inky blackness was the only thing he could see. He didn't understand – where was he? Where was Haku, Sasuke, the bridge? How did he get here?

The sewer – for that was what it looked like – gave an answer to his unspoken query. In the distance to the right, Naruto heard a deep rumble, the intensity sending ripples through the water he was standing in. The Uzumaki turned towards the sound, and after a moment, began to walk in its direction.

Time felt as if it had no hold over him, so whatever distance he’d crossed, whether it was feet, miles, or leagues, he did so in an eternal instant. Naruto simply found himself standing in a grand hall of sorts, the walls and floor the same as the sewer’s, only with the ceiling much higher and walls much farther apart. The water was the same level as well, covering his feet up to his ankles but making no sound when he walked through it. In front of him, large thick bars were running halfway through the room, identifying it as a cell.

And behind it, behind the bars, were two eyes staring straight into Naruto’s soul.

Naruto walked up to the bars until he had to crane his neck to look up into the eyes. As he did so, he studied the only thing that he could identify as a lock for the cell – a piece of paper with the symbol for the word _Seal_ inscribed on it.

“I’ve known you were here for a month now,” said Naruto, breaking the silence. “But I didn’t think that it was possible to talk to you.”

**That is because you believed I wished to speak to you** , came the answer, the sound rumbling and echoing in the space of what Naruto now knew was his mind.

“And you do now?” asked Naruto.

**In a way, yes.**

“Why?”

**You accessed my power,** said the Nine Tailed Fox. **That, however, is not my concern. My concern is how you did it. I did not have to force it upon you, as I normally would have done, but my power simply answered your call. It is not a function of this seal I am imprisoned in, and yet, it happened.**

“And how should I know how it happened?” retorted Naruto.

A laugh made its presence. **You should not assume, mortal,** said the Kyuubi. **I know exactly how you did it. My father’s power runs through your veins now, called upon through the blood of your forefathers, my father’s descendants, and the hatred in your heart. It is the only reason I’ve decided to speak to you.**

Naruto blinked. “I don’t understand,” he said. “What power are you talking about, your chakra?”

The eyes above him blinked. **No,** came the answer. **My power, great as it is, can flatten mountains and raise the sea over the lands. A single wave of my tails can cause great destruction across the land if I so wish it, and yet it is nothing compared to the power of my father.**

Naruto frowned. “And who is your father?” asked Naruto.

**The Sage of Six Paths.**

Naruto was stunned for a moment at the answer. “Are… are you serious?” asked Naruto. “The Sage… my mom would tell me bedtime stories about him, stories about how he created chakra and the moon, how he taught the shinobi ways… I thought he was a legend! A bedtime story! Are you telling me he truly existed?”

**Yes,** he said. **He is your ancestor.**

“Huh…” said Naruto. “I really didn’t see that one coming… I guess that makes the two of us family, in a way.”

The eyes blinked once, before moving downwards, crouching down to his level. Naruto held in a breath as the Nine Tailed Fox revealed itself for the first time. Orange fur with black highlights. Teeth larger than a house, with fangs twice as long. Paws shaped like hands. Ears that reached upwards, similar to a rabbits. And behind the monstrous creature of unimaginable size, nine orange and white tails waved, each one glowing with power as they moved with the Fox.

This was the Kyuubi no Kitsune – the Nine Tailed Demon Fox. This was the tailed beast that marked Naruto as a Jinchūriki.

Naruto just looked at the Fox, and the Fox looked at him. **I want to hate you** , said the tailed beast. **I wish I could hate you. You are my jailer, the reason I am stuck in this pitiful excuse of a hole… and yet the sight of those eyes only causes me… confusion.**

Naruto blinked. “What do you mean?” he asked.

The fox shook his head. **The power of my father,** he explained. **It resided in his eyes, eyes that were given to him from birth. His eyes were so powerful that even today, in your time, their name is only whispered in dark corners or spoken of as legends, as bedtime stories, as you said earlier.**

“What are they called?”

The Kyuubi took a deep breath. **They were known,** he said, **as the Rinnegan. And as their new bearer, you have a large responsibility on your shoulders. I may not agree with this, but there are forces even more powerful than I. Destiny is one of them, and She has decreed that you will wield this power. As such, it falls to me to ensure that you wield this power as it was meant to be used for, the same way my father used it for. For peace.**

Naruto looked down, into the water, only to find that it caused no reflection. He found himself falling backwards, reeling of the information and knowledge he was given. Falling on his butt, he stared into the water, mouth slightly open in amazement. After a while, he looked up at the Fox, eyes burning with curiosity and questions.

“Why?” he asked. “Why me?”

The demon shrugged. **I do not pretend to know,** he said. **In time, perhaps the answer will come, but today, both you and I are ignorant in this. It is how things work.**

Naruto bit his lip. “I… I don’t want power,” he said. “My dream is to be Hokage. I mean, if I’m going to be powerful, I want it to be because I worked for it, not because it was given to me.”

The Kyuubi scoffed. **And indeed you shall,** he said. **You will bleed, you will cry, but you will master this power. I will help you, but only because I will not see my father’s dreams and hopes dashed away by an insignificant bug like you.**

Naruto took a deep breath. “I guess,” he said. He looked up at the demon, standing back up as he did so while noting that the water didn’t leave him wet. “In that case, I’ll be glad, honored even, to receive your teachings.” Naruto bowed as he said this.

**Hmph,** said the demon. **At least you know how to respect your betters. In time, you will perhaps be even more powerful than I, but as it stands, a mere flick of my _eyelid_ is enough to crush you.**

Naruto gulped, standing back up from his bow. “I won’t deny that,” he agreed, before he thought of something. “Umm… how should I call you? I don’t think that calling you Nine Tails is appropriate… it’d be like calling me Five Fingers or something. What’s your name?”

The fox blinked. When he spoke, he sounded surprised. **I confess that I did not expect that question,** said the Kyuubi. **I have been jailed twice before, and neither one of my Jinchūriki bothered to ask such a question.** The demon took a deep breath. **That being said, I am Kurama of the Nine Tails, son of the Sage of Six Paths, and the most powerful of all the Tailed Beasts.**

Naruto smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kurama,” he said. “I’m Naruto Uzumaki, adopted son of Anko Mitarashi, genin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and future Hokage, believe it!”

Kurama nodded. **Now that that is out of the way, it is time for you to return to your world. There are things to be done. Leave me.**

So Naruto did.

**…ooOoo…**

Pain. Agony. It was an endless instant, a single moment in which Naruto couldn’t think, couldn’t focus on anything but the pain. It was like his blood was turning into acid, burning his body from the inside out.

And all of that was focused on his eyes.

There was a keening sound in his ears, a roar that dominated his hearing, but Naruto didn’t notice as his hands were busy trying to carve gauges under his eyes. Naruto kept trying to pull out the source of his agony, but every time he tried his hands would slip and slide down his cheeks, his fingers unable to find purchase on his skin.

And then suddenly, the pain spiked, and Naruto was pulled somewhere else.

At first glance, the place he found himself looked as if an architect got drunk on Rohypnol-spiked vodka – Rohypnol was commonly known as a “roofie,” a type of date-rape drug – while snorting himself up higher than the mountains of Kumo before deciding to sit down and design the first thing that came to mind. The result was something that looked akin to a mash up of a casino and a funhouse. There were poker tables, distortion mirrors, fireworks in the air, drinks with sparklers in them, waiters dressed in what looked like teddy-bear costumes… the really weird works. The room was crowded with people as well, but their faces were either pixelated, blurred out or simply did not have a face.

However, Naruto’s attention was diverted to a massive carnival wheel that was floating in midair, bobbing up and down every now and then. Next to the wheel stood a tall eccentric looking man with waist-length, spiky white hair that was tied back into a pony tail, with two shoulder-length bangs that framed both sides of his face as well as red lines that ran down from his eyes and a noticeable wart on the left side of his nose. The man was dressed in a golden-colored western-style business suit, and was enthusiastically speaking into a microphone.

“Come one, come all!” the man yelled, “Are you ready for tonight’s final show!? Will you dare choose your fate at the Wheel of Fortune!? You can win anything, from a terrible and painful death to the world’s greatest treasure! Risk eternal punishment for the chance of the greatest heaven! Give away your strength and become the world’s weakest man or woman, or learn how to be the greatest man to walk the earth! Who will volunteer!?”

Naruto blinked, bewildered. What the hell was going on!?

The man suddenly focused on Naruto, and the blonde instinctively tried to step back but found himself unable to. “And there we have it folks!” yelled the man, pointing at Naruto. “We have our volunteer!”

“Huh!?” exclaimed Naruto, looking around and realizing that the faceless crowd had somehow stepped back without him noticing, leaving him to his fate. “Wait, I don’t want-”

“Don’t be shy, son!” interrupted the announcer, his arm reaching forward and extending over ten feet to grasp Naruto on the shoulder. “Come on, step up!”

Against his will, Naruto’s legs carried him forward, the man’s arm shrinking until it was its length was back to normal and Naruto was standing next to the Wheel of Fortune.

“Now then,” said the announcer, smiling at Naruto, “go ahead son, and choose your fate!”

Naruto glanced from the Wheel back to the announcer. “What am I supposed to do?” he asked.

The announcer’s smile became wider. “It’s simple!” he said, “All you have to do it step up to the edge of the Wheel and make it spin! See that arrow up there?” The announcer pointed at an arrow at the top of the Wheel. “When the wheel stops, that arrow signifies your choice! Child’s play! So, are you ready?”

Naruto looked at the wheel with a raised eyebrow. “But there aren’t any choices,” he said. “The wheel’s… empty.”

The announcer waved a nonchalant hand. “Those’ll pop up when you touch the wheel!” he explained. “See, ever person’s different, so their choices will always be different!”

Naruto frowned. “And what’s the catch?” he asked.

The announcer’s smile became a tad sinister. “The catch is in itself,” he said. “Become powerful, have powerful enemies; become rich, risk losing everything, that kind of thing. It all depends on what the Wheel lands on.”

_Well,_ thought Naruto, _this is all some kind of weird dream anyways, so I guess playing through won’t hurt_. With that, the blonde nodded at the announcer and stepped up to the wheel. As soon as he placed his hand on the edge, he felt his skin get cut a little and the little blood that escaped spread over the Wheel, splitting it into various pieces, each piece with a different color and label. From his position, the words were hard to read, but even so Naruto was able to distinguish some of them – _Sharingan, Byakugan_ …

Shrugging and chalking it up to his really messed up imagination, Naruto grasped the Wheel of Fortune strongly and pulled downwards, making the thing start to spin. Immediately, the room became silent, causing Naruto to look around – the crowd, the tables, the waiters, even the announcer had vanished. In that moment, Naruto felt like he’d done a deal with the devil. The Wheel continued to spin regardless, making a clacking noise as it did so, and Naruto looked back at it, his gaze riveted on the arrow.

The Wheel continued to spin…

And spin…

And spin…

And began to slow down…

It crawled…

And it stopped.

Naruto frowned. The “choice” was colored in a pattern of six blue-colored circles, each inside the other on a white surface. With a boom not unlike a bell chime, the other options turned into dust, leaving the final choice floating in the air. The shape changed, turning into a circle that started to grow larger and larger until Naruto’s entire vision was dominated by the rings.

And then it vanished in a burst of white.

That’s when in the voices started.

_“You stay away from my family you bastard!”_

_“I never break a promise –_ that’s _my ninja way.”_

_“You and I are the same – the same blood, the same family. And if I’m no god, then neither are you!”_

_“I love you, ya know?”_

_“We’re always with you, Naruto…”_

_“Behold, the Sage of Six Paths!”_

_“What can I say, I’m just that awesome!”_

_“Naruto, wake up!”_

_“Idiot… all that power, and you’d trade it in for a bowl of Ramen?”_

_“Whee!”_

_“For the first time in centuries, kit… I have a friend that is mortal. Thank you for the opportunity.”_

_“Wake up!”_

_“So much death… when will it end?”_

_“Oh, my child! You have tortured me so, and even after so many millennia you continue to do so! I hate you! I wish you’d never been born!”_

_“There is no such thing as peace, you fool!”_

_“You idiot,_ WAKE UP!!”

**…ooOoo…**


	6. Back to Konoha

Arc I – The Times before Seven

**...ooOoo...**

With a gasp, Naruto broke free from the visions. Sitting up, he looked around, taking everything in as he got up from where he was lying on the bridge. Sakura was standing next to him, kunai out as her jacket and pants fluttered in the sea breeze. The Ice Dome Haku had imprisoned Sasuke and him in was gone, the wet stones being the only sign as to where it used to be.

“Get _up_ , Naruto!” yelled Sakura, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

“Sakura!” said Naruto, “Where’s Sasuke? And Haku, where-?”

“Sasuke’s fine!” she said, “The original me is stabilizing him, he’s just knocked out, the Hunter-nin wasn’t aiming for the kill!”

Naruto sighed in relief, laughing slightly. “Oh, thank Kami,” he said. “And Haku?”

“Haku?” asked what Naruto now knew was Sakura’s Rock clone, confused, “You mean the Hunter-nin? He’s right over- whoa…” the clone paused, turning to fully look at Naruto in the eyes. “Naruto, your eyes…”

“Huh!?” asked the blonde, touching his cheek with his right hand. When he pulled it away, it was wet with blood. “What’s wrong!? I can see fine!”

Sakura shook her head. “I-it looks like a Kekkei Genkai, a bloodline limit of some kind,” the clone said, “but I’ve never seen anything like it before…”

_The Rinnegan…_ thought Naruto. Was this what the Kyuubi, Kurama of the Nine Tails, was talking about? Did it have to do anything with that dream of his? “Whatever,” he said. “It doesn’t matter, we’ll figure it out later. What’s going on?”

“After you blew up the ice dome with the Kyuubi’s chakra, something happened,” said Sakura. “It was like an explosion, it knocked everybody to the ground, even Kakashi-Sensei and Zabuza. I think Zabuza was knocked out though, because the Hunter-nin is fighting Kakashi-Sensei over his body. Look!” the clone pointed at where two figures were fighting, a third lying on the ground nearby.

“I’ll take care of it,” said Naruto. “Get back to Sasuke, help Sakura- uh, yourself. You get what I mean!” With that he rushed towards the battle, hoping that Sakura’s clone wouldn’t notice his red face.

**Stop.**

Naruto gasped, stopping in his tracks a few yards away from the battle. “Kurama…?”

**If you get any closer, you’ll be torn to shreds,** came the male voice of his tenant, echoing in his mind. **Even with my father’s eyes, you won’t be able to keep up with them. You’ll just be in the way.**

“So then what do I do!?” said Naruto. “I can’t just let them deck it out!”

**Channel some chakra to your eyes,** said Kurama.

“Huh?” he said, “what do you mean, like the tree-walking exercise?”

**Yes,** said Kurama, **just with a different target in mind. Now hurry.**

“Ok…” said Naruto, holding his hands in the Ram seal. Closing his eyes, he focused, imagining his chakra flowing towards his head and centering itself in his eyes. When he opened them, he gasped, looking down at his hands. There were blue and red lines running all along his hands and arms, and when he looked at his body he could see that the lines were all over as well, with the red lines centering themselves in his stomach and the blue lines in his heart.

_Chakra pathways,_ he thought, _the blue chakra is my chakra while the red is Kurama’s… Is this the power of the Rinnegan?_ Looking up, he realized that he could see Kakashi’s and Haku’s blue chakra… and the purple that was Zabuza’s.

Naruto winced. _That’s some ugly chakra,_ he thought. “What now Kurama?”

**Raise your right hand,** said the Kyuubi, **Now that you can see it, focus on Zabuza’s chakra. Lock onto it, and channel some chakra to your right hand and simply pull it towards you. You’ll know what to do afterwards.**

“…pull it?”

**You’ll understand when it happens. You must _will_ it, not just picture it.**

Naruto frowned as he thought about what Kurama was asking him to do. This wasn’t like any jutsu he’d ever performed before. Normal jutsu were just making the corresponding hand signs and channeling the proper chakra into the technique-

But then again, what if this actually _was_ the same? Naruto grinned at his reasoning – his single hand sign was just reaching out to his target, so theoretically he had already fulfilled all the requirements of the jutsu, right?

Naruto looked at the unconscious Zabuza, reaching out with his right hand, and channeled the chakra to his limb.

What followed was the most epic and incredible moment of truly inspiring nothing.

Naruto blinked a couple of times. He could’ve sworn that he’d done everything right-

**Watch out!**

Naruto didn’t even think, he just jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding a large spike of ice that looked as if it had been torn off of a glacier. Landing safely, he glanced at his fighting sensei with wide eyes – the man had patches of ice all over his uniform, which was torn in a lot of places; his headband was gone, his Sharingan spinning wildly as it remained focused on the blurring Haku, who was moving at what appeared to be her maximum speed which was to the point that the only way that Naruto could see her was through the Rinnegan’s ability to see chakra. Truly, she’d been holding out on Sasuke and him when they fought.

However, the thing that alarmed Naruto the most was the fact that Kakashi was beginning to get visibly tired.

“What the hell!?” said Naruto when he’d moved a safe distance. “Why didn’t the jutsu work!?”

**I told you, you need to will it,** came Kurama’s answer. **Don’t think about it, just _will_ it.**

“Yeah, if you could actually understand what that means, that would be great!”

Somehow, Naruto got the impression that the Kitsune was sighing. **How do you move your arm?** Asked the Kyuubi. **Do you think about moving it? Do you say something in your mind that triggers your arm’s movement? No, you simply _do_ it. You just _move your arm._ Now do the same with the jutsu!**

Naruto frowned, looking at the palm of his hand. He moved back into position, reaching out to Zabuza, trying to figure out how to get the body moving towards him, but the unconscious Zabuza remained where he was, silently taunting the Uzumaki with its inaction.

Finally, after a few tense seconds of nothing, Naruto lost his patience.

“For the love of the Sage,” he cried out, “why don’t you just _get over here!?_ ”

What happened next surprised every party involved. For Naruto, it was as if a little ball of chakra shimmered in the palm of his hand, invisible to everyone but him. Then, Zabuza’s body was simply pulled towards him through the air, the ball of chakra acting like an attraction point. For Kakashi and Haku it was as if Zabuza had just decided to fly towards the genin out of his own accord.

“Zabuza!” cried Haku, freezing in position. “Wait, how-?”

When she turned, she was greeted with Naruto’s victorious smirk as he held the man up with one arm while holding a kunai to the man’s neck with his other. “It’s over Haku,” he said. “Stand down.”

Haku had already been moving towards the Uzumaki, previous mercy be damned, but was forced to stay still else have her throat torn out by a single Kunai knife, held by Kakashi Hatake.

“Good job, Naruto!” cheered Kakashi. “Well done!” _Though I have no idea how he did it, it was impressive nonetheless._ Throughout his whole praise, his eyes remained on his new prisoner. _This kid, Haku… she’s really good… I’m honestly impressed that Naruto and Sasuke were able to hold out against her as long as they did._

The girl in question hesitated, glancing between Naruto and the blade he held to her master’s neck. “I… I surrender,” she said finally, brown eyes cast down in disappointment while letting go of the Senbon needles in her hands.

“Thank the heavens,” said Naruto in relief. “Sakura! It’s over!”

“I can tell!” she yelled back. Glancing behind him, he saw two Sakura’s kneeling next to Sasuke’s unconscious body, her palms glowing green as she healed his injuries. Next to her stood Tazuna, who looked at her work with a curious set of eyes.

Suddenly, there was clapping from a distance _behind_ Kakashi and Haku. All eyes moved to the man of small stature dressed in a business suit. He looked like a man in his forties, and yet had grey hair that was arranged in a ball, defying gravity and standing in all directions. His left arm was in a cast, and yet was able to produce a loud enough sound with his clapping to draw the attention of the assembled ninjas.

What was worrying, however, was the large amount of what looked like mercenaries and ronin standing behind him.

“So this is how it ends, huh?” asked the man. “Looks like he did quite the number on dear old Zabuza! He looks like yesterday’s Sashimi!” The man’s smirk became a touch deadly. “I must say I’m… disappointed.” Behind him, the men shared a chuckle.

Haku’s worried eyes transformed, becoming like the ice she manipulated as her gaze shifted from her dormant master to the man in the business suit. “Gatou,” she snarled, “what is this!? What are you doing here!? And who are the thugs you brought here with you!?”

Gatou smiled. “I really shouldn’t tell you,” he said, “but I guess it won’t matter in a few minutes now will it? You see, there’s been a slight change in plans… and according to the new plan, you and Zabuza will die right here on his bridge! You two are too expensive, so I’m removing you from the payroll! Of course, the thugs behind me cost money as well, so if you could get rid of some of some of them before they take you down, I’d really appreciate it.”

Haku frowned for a moment before glancing at Kakashi out of the corner of her eye. “It seems as though our fight is over,” she said. “Zabuza and I are no longer in Gatou’s employ, so it seems we are no longer enemies.” She looked back at Gatou and the thugs in disgust. “I may have failed to protect my father, but I won’t let any of those men touch him. Not while I still breathe.”

“You’re right,” said Kakashi, removing his knife from her throat. “Our quarrel is over,” he said, his eyes looking at Gatou, “however, it seems as though my team’s assignment still stands. We still need to protect the bridge builder.” The _and I don’t know how we’ll manage against all those men_ went unsaid.

Haku’s answering glance said she understood. Both of them looked like the wind could blow them with a single gust, with scratches, cuts and bruises, Kakashi in particular having the worst injuries of the two. The most notable was a cut on his chest that looked as if it had been inflicted by Zabuza’s massive cleaver, which was bleeding heavily, blood dripping onto the stone.

“Haku.”

Kakashi and the girl looked at Naruto, who had walked up to the two with Zabuza slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The blue-eyed Uzumaki was looking at her with eyes that spoke of his admiration for her – the admiration and awe that stemmed from the fact that she called Zabuza her father. The fact that she cared for this man, this demon of the mist, who only used her for her talents and skills as a ninja, the fact that she didn’t have a dream but rather lived to fulfill _his_ dream… Naruto couldn’t help but feel inadequate in her presence. She was something that Naruto hoped to be in the future.

As such, it was without hesitance that he handed Zabuza over to her.

“I only ask one thing,” he said, looking at her straight in the eyes, which were wide with surprise and gratitude and a little bit of apprehension as she stared into the Rinnegan.

“Name it,” she said without hesitation.

“Take care of Sasuke for me,” he said. He looked at the thugs, who were smirking at the small crowd with glee and bloodlust in their eyes. “Sensei, help her. Get some rest while you’re at it. Some of the thugs might get past me and go for Tazuna as well.”

“Us, Naruto,” came Sakura’s voice. The pinkette was calmly adjusting her gloves, her green eyes cold and unforgiving as she looked at the thugs. Sakura glanced at Naruto and said, “You really think I’m going to let you and Sasuke hog all the fun? I’m helping out here, and don’t you even dare stop me.”

Naruto smiled. “I wasn’t going to,” he said. “Sensei, we’ll take care of everything, believe it!”

“They won’t know what hit them, cha!” chorused Sakura, smacking her palm with her fist, cracking her fingers as she did so.

Beside them, Kakashi chuckled. “Thanks you two,” he said. A moment later, however, he spoke again. “Are you sure about this? There’s a high chance that your first kills will be today.”

Naruto took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he did so. “Haku’s lived this long without killing anyone in her life,” he said. “But that’s because I guess Zabuza wanted to preserve whatever innocence she has. He really is a good person… at least, a part of him is.” His eyes opened, the blue in them like steel. “I don’t, won’t, have that luxury. I’ll kill so that my friends won’t have to. I’ll gladly take that sacrifice if it means protecting the people I love. Even if their hands are stained with as much blood as mine. I’m a ninja of Konoha. I’m a killer. There’s no getting around that, so I might as well get it out of the way today.”

Kakashi nodded. “And you Sakura?”

“I feel the same,” she said. “I won’t give you a boring speech like Naruto’s (hey!) but I think the same applies for me. Besides,” she added, glancing at Naruto with a deadpan stare, “someone needs to keep an eye on this idiot’s back.”

“Gee, I feel so loved,” said Naruto.

Their sensei laughed. “Very well,” he said. “Be careful you two. If anything happens, remember that we’re close by. I’ll step in if anything happens.”

“Hai, Sensei,” answered the two genin, and a moment later, both Kakashi and Haku, the latter carrying Zabuza, had jumped away a safe distance.

“Ha!” laughed Gatou. “Look at this, boys! They left us a pair of kids! It seems like that’s all they have left to offer!” The men jeered and laughed, beginning to ready their weapons.

Naruto and Sakura for their part ignored them, preparing themselves for the coming confrontation, Naruto by readjusting his clawed gauntlets and Sakura by checking her weapons pouches while stretching a little.

As they did this, the Uzumaki was hit by an errant thought. “Sakura,” he asked, “what do my eyes look like?”

Sakura started in surprise before looking at him. She frowned in confusion. “Well,” she said, “it’s like your pupil vanished. All that’s left is your iris, but the ring is much, much thinner. Which is weird, because earlier I could’ve sworn that it was purple, but now it’s just your normal blue...”

Naruto frowned before shrugging. “Huh,” he said. “That is weird… I guess I’ll ask Kurama about it later.”

“Kurama?”

“The Kyuubi. He spoke to me when I got the bloodline limit.”

“Oh,” said Sakura, her gaze returning to the thugs. “Did he happen to say what it was?”

Naruto nodded. “Yeah,” he said, “he said it was called the Rinnegan.”

Sakura’s eyes widened before her head whipped towards him in alarm. “The Rinnegan!?” she said, “But that’s the most-”

“Alright men, _let’s go get ‘em!_ ”

With a roar, the thugs charged, their boss standing behind them with a victorious smile on his face.

“Fight now, talk later!” said Naruto.

“Right!” cried Sakura. “ _Earth Style: Rock Clone Jutsu!”_ Sakura breathed in before spitting out three blobs of rocks that when they touched the bridge surface began shape themselves into three copies of Sakura, cracks running on the surface of each clone.

Naruto, not wanting to be left out, added his own technique. “ _Shadow Clone Jutsu!_ ” With a poof of smoke, four clones made their appearance, but that’s when things got weird. With a gasp, the original Naruto held a hand to his head as he was bombarded with a constant flux of information, as if his clones were continuously dying and sending him the information. Four different viewpoints, four different sources of information, not including himself, made him lose control of the jutsu, and the clones vanished with a puff of smoke.

“Naruto!?” asked Sakura, alarmed.

“Don’t worry about it!” he cried, channeling chakra instead to his gauntlets and lighting them with Foxfire. “Just focus on the thugs!”

Those were the last words he said to her for the next few minutes, as their enemies were upon them. Naruto met the charge of one of the swordsmen with a swing of his right-hand gauntlet, the Foxfire literally burning through the man’s sword and cutting into his neck, partially severing the head from the body. Eyes wide, the man fell, but Naruto didn’t even spare his first kill a glance as he followed through with the motion, flowing into snake style taijutsu to weave around his enemies and cut them to ribbons with his claws. Blue Foxfire trailed behind him, the trails of fire denoting the deadly dance Naruto was participating in. For this type of combat, his other blades would have been more appropriate, but as a ninja he was supposed to adapt to the situation; he would make the best out of what he had.

For the next few minutes, Naruto lost himself in the combat. Sure, his Sensei, Zabuza, or even Haku could have dealt with all of the thugs in less than a minute, and maybe even he could be included in that group – with a liberal use of his clones – but even with him and Sakura regrouping and fighting back-to-back every now and then, there were just a lot of these guys to deal with. Fortunately, it seemed as though the thugs had little experience with teamwork or just fighting alongside each other; they would leave gaps between themselves or simply get in each other’s way, which were mistakes that the two genin of team 7 were exploiting every chance they got.

Then, about six to seven minutes into the fight, _it_ happened. Naruto himself wasn’t even sure why he was looking at Sakura when it happened, but whatever the case, he saw the whole event from beginning to finish.

Sakura was fighting two thugs at the same time, both of which were wielding swords that looked like they’d seen better days. Kunai met swords in clashes of sparks and screeches, but since they were two against one, they were evenly matched. When she managed to lock the swords with the kunai knives she held in both hands, another thug approached from behind her, lifting his weapon above his head in an overhead strike that would doubtlessly injure, if not kill Sakura.

“Behind you!” called Naruto in warning. Sakura glanced behind her, spotting the thug with his weapon ready to strike, and pushed at the swords of the thugs in front of her. They were pushed backwards, slightly off-balance, but Sakura ignored them in favor of dropping to the ground in a low kick that swept the thug’s feet from under him before he could even attempt to attack. Strangely enough, the man’s weapon remained in the air for a few moments, staying up because of the momentum of the man’s drop. A second later, it was swept out of the air by Sakura herself, who with a single swing, disposed of the two men she’d been fighting earlier and sending them flying.

A swing and a twirl later, the head of the Warhammer was planted into its previous’ owner’s chest, sending a spray of blood in the air.

In that moment, Naruto knew that everyone that knew Sakura was looking at her in fear. Already Naruto could feel the future bruises and hits that he would suffer at Sakura’s hands with that hammer. Hell, he knew that both Kakashi and Sasuke (if he was conscious) were looking at the Haruno with a gaze of absolute terror; she’d always been strong, but with a weapon like that…

They were doomed.

As if hearing Naruto’s thoughts, the girl in question smirked before hefting the now-bloody hammer on to her shoulder. “You know,” she said, “I think I found my new favorite toy.”

“Die you bitch!”

Sakura rolled her eyes before letting the hammer’s handle slide until she was gripping the weapon from just below the head of the weapon, before stabbing backwards with the grip and catching a ronin in the chest. Naruto winced at the sound of the man’s sternum being completely crushed. Sakura then let the weapon slide through her right hand once more until her grip was at the end of the handle, before turning around in a swing and catching the ronin in the exact same spot she’d already hit him and sending him flying into a couple of thugs that fell to the ground with the man’s weight.

Just then, Sakura glanced at Naruto with an accusing look in her eye. “Well!?” she yelled. “Are you planning on staying there all day or are you going to help!?”

Jarred out of his thoughts, Naruto glanced around him, only to be stabbed in four different places by three men. A puff of smoke later, however, revealed that the Uzumaki had substituted himself with a random piece of stone from the incomplete bridge. The three men then fell to the ground, dead, shuriken littering their bodies as Naruto moved on to another group. It was then that Blue Rinnegan eyes then caught sight of a group of men that were loading crossbows and aiming them at the group of his teacher, fellow teammate, Tazuna, Zabuza and Haku.

“Sakura, you’re on your own for a bit!” he called. Immediately afterwards, the boy jumped backwards until he was standing in front of the group. Ten seals later, he called out the name of his jutsu as the men let loose their bolts.

“ _Wind Style: Windwall!”_ he called, before slamming his palms into the bridge’s surface. A moment later, a crack erupted from his hands on the bridge surface, spreading out in an arch surrounding the group as high-pressured wind erupted from the crack. When the bolts impacted the barrier jutsu, they were diverted upwards or to the sides, keeping his charges safe from harm.

“Nice speed, Naruto,” commented his Sensei, “but don’t you think it would’ve been faster to just take the archers out?”

Naruto shook his head as he released the technique. “I was closer to you guys,” he said, before nodding at the Rock clone that made its appearance between the archers. “Besides, Sakura’s taking care of them now.” Suddenly, a glance to the side made him narrow his eyes dangerously. “Kakashi-Sensei, do you think you could send a clone to take care of that guy over there?”

Kakashi glanced at the man in question, who was quietly sneaking onto a nearby boat below the bridge, before smiling. “Well,” he said, “I suppose our mission isn’t over until Gatou is dead. We might as well take care of the coward when we have the chance.” A seal later, and the water surrounding the group coalesced into a water clone of Kakashi, who vanished afterwards in a Body-Flicker.

Meanwhile, Naruto was having another conversation with a certain fox. _Ok,_ he thought, _explain that again. You want me to do the same thing as last time, with the attraction technique, only this time you want me to_ push _them all away?_

**Correct,** answered Kurama. **In theory, this should be much simpler to accomplish since you have already succeeded with the other technique. However, you must remember that you must _will_ it to happen, or it will not. This is the power of the Deva Path – control over Gravity.**

“Huh,” said Naruto out loud. He shrugged, before preparing his chakra and sending it to his hand. This time, somehow, he knew it, felt it that the technique would go as he wanted it to.

“Sakura, get out of the way!” he yelled.

“Naruto…?” asked Kakashi, confused as his other student jumped out of the fray, leaving the remaining thugs and ronin bewildered at their lack of an opponent.

“Now then…” said Naruto, holding his right hand at the wrist with his left with the palm pointed at the enemy, “ _Get away!”_

A moment later, everything was blown away. Tools, materials, equipment, weapons, and bodies, both living and dead, were sent flying from a force that no one but Naruto could see. Everything that was at the end of the bridge was sent careening into the water, though Naruto instinctively knew that they would land in such a way that either they would be too far from their boats or would be rendered unconscious when they hit the water. Basically, they would all drown here, their corpses sent to the bottom of the ocean – just like the headless corpse of Gatou, who joined his “employees” fate as fish food.

Naruto, breathing heavily, relaxed his stance as Sakura, her new weapon in hand, appeared next to him from beneath the bridge, her Double Decapitation technique saving her from the damage of Naruto's new technique. A sound to his left revealed that Sasuke had woken up from Haku's attack and was now staring at the destruction with a blank expression, but Naruto knew him well enough to determine that the Uchiha was just as flabbergasted and amazed as the rest of his audience was.

A strong hand was then placed on the Uzumaki's shoulder. At his student's glance, Kakashi gave him a reassuring smile, even though Naruto knew that the questions that awaited him numbered in the thousands.

"It's almost over," he said.

Naruto glanced back at the empty bridge, before looking down at his palm. "No," he disagreed, "I think it's only just begun."

Unfortunately for him, the following years would only prove him right.

… **ooOoo…**

After the battle at the bridge, all the threats against Tazuna and the construction of the bridge itself were eliminated.

As it turned out, Inari, bless his young soul, had managed to rally up most of the population of Wave Country in preparation to assist the shinobi at the bridge, only to arrive after everything had been done with. Even so, not all of Gatou's mercenary corps had been present at the bridge, so the villagers took it upon themselves to track down and punish the remaining forces accordingly.

Interestingly, Zabuza and Haku helped out with that by providing one of the most valuable currencies in the world – information. Zabuza gave Team Seven the means to ensure that all of Gatou's money would be appropriately seized and spent in the correct way. All of it, every cent, every deed, was given to the Country of Wave, which was quite needy of the money. Tazuna, having received his fair share due to the construction of the bridge, immediately arranging for Konoha to receive the appropriate payment for the mission; originally he'd only paid for a C-rank mission, but with all the events Kakashi had determined that without a doubt the mission alone had to be re-classified as B-rank at minimum.

Zabuza's presence upped that to A-rank. Period.

As such, this lead to the biggest question of the day – what would happen to Zabuza and Haku?

"Normally, I would personally ensure that your heads would be turned in for the bounty," said Kakashi. "Haku has no entry in the bingo book, but that's because your ruse has played off well. However, just being an accomplice of Zabuza, let alone his apprentice, is enough to fetch a pretty good price, I believe."

Zabuza leaned back on his chair, the bandages covering his mouth removed and revealing his confident smirk. "And?" he said.

"Oh, nothing," said Kakashi, "just stating the facts."

"Now, now," interrupted Tsunami, as she placed two cups of tea on the table in her home's kitchen, "there will be no talk of bounties and such on this table. Am I clear?"

"Crystal, miss Tsunami!" said Naruto with a smile, which wavered upon a glance at his teacher. "We aren't going to turn them in, right?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No," he agreed. "We should, and I'm pretty sure that anyone else would do it, but I don't think so. Not with what Zabuza told us about the Hidden Mist."

Naruto frowned at the mention of the Village. Apparently, their civil war had been raging on for years now, and the reason why Zabuza was a missing-nin was because he'd tried to assassinate the Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura, who'd been sponsoring the infamous Bloodline Purges, in which clans, families, and individuals who had any kind of Bloodline Limit, or a Kekkei Genkai, were hunted down and killed.

And the reason why he'd been taking jobs like these? So that he could collect enough money to hopefully fund a second coup-d'état in hopes of ending the horrible rein of the Yondaime Mizukage. Overthrowing Yagura would mean peace for the Hidden Mist.

Another reason was because he wanted to secure a future for Haku.

"I admit it," said Zabuza as they conversed over their tea. "I practically raised Haku. I found her one day in the streets of Kiri, starving and shivering. Her mother had just been killed by her father after he found out she was a bloodline user… she was alone. At first I saw her, and her bloodline, as a tool, the perfect weapon to be wielded at my command… but she grew on me, the little rascal. This life of mine, of always running, of being constantly hunted, it's not something I would want her to live for the rest of her life."

At that, Sasuke had smirked. "So the Demon of the Mist has a heart," he said.

Before the man in question could retort, Haku spoke first. "And that is something that I am eternally grateful for," she said as she set down the remaining cups of tea, holding them in a floating platter of ice. "Zabuza's training was rough, but he was always there for me throughout these years. It has been a long time since he found me… but I am thankful that he did. That day I'd lost my mother at the hands of the man I believed to be my father. He is still the only man I've ever killed." Haku's eyes drifted into the past, seeing memories only she could see. "Strange, I don't feel remorse… perhaps because I didn't kill him consciously. Even I know that it was an accident, a loss of control of my own Kekkei Genkai." She looked at Zabuza and smiled at him. "He helped me control my abilities so that something like that wouldn't happen again."

"Well I did have to ensure my personal safety," said Zabuza with a gruff voice, though the shine in his eyes gave his true feelings on the matter. Naruto couldn't help but smile at the byplay between the two.

"So what will you two do now?" asked Naruto.

Zabuza shrugged. "The money that Gatou owed us was enough for us to head back to Kiri," he said. "Now that we have the money, I think we'll head back over there soon. I hear that the resistance against Yagura is becoming more and more powerful, but I'd like to confirm that for myself."

"When will you leave?" asked Sakura.

"As soon as possible, hopefully," he said. "We're missing-nin; every day that we spend in one place is another day lost against ninja that may be tracking us."

Kakashi nodded. "I see," he said, "I wish you luck in that venture." After Zabuza nodded at his thanks, Kakashi turned to both Naruto and Sasuke. "Now, the second most important topic of the day – your eyes."

The two teammates glanced at each other. "You go first," said Naruto, "You have the shortest story, and it gives me time to prepare mine."

Sasuke nodded before telling their teacher how his Sharingan manifested. At the end, Kakashi nodded. "It's the normal way for a Sharingan to develop in the Uchiha," he said. "Stress, especially in life-threatening situations, was the more common method that your clan would awaken the Dōjutsu. Sometimes it developed with age, while others – your brother and Shisui Uchiha come to mind – manage to awaken it at a very early age." Kakashi smiled at the Uchiha. "But in any case, congratulations on getting your Sharingan. Even if it's incomplete and not fully matured, with time and training, you'll reach its full potential soon enough."

"Thank you, Sensei," said Sasuke with a half-smile.

"You're welcome," he said. He then looked towards Tsunami. "Miss Tsunami, I'm so sorry to ask this of you in your own home, but…?"

"Oh, there's no need to be ashamed," answered the young woman with a smile, "I understand." With that, Tazuna's daughter left the shinobi in the kitchen.

Kakashi then turned to Naruto, his eyes showing his worry. "So… what about you, Naruto?" he asked. "What can you tell me about your eyes?"

The adopted Mitarashi took a deep breath. "It happened after Haku knocked out Sasuke," he said. "Haku said some things, nothing mean or anything like that, on the contrary, she said that Sasuke was a true ninja, but the only thing I could think of was that he was dead and that honor wasn't going to bring him back. I got angry, and I think I drew on the Kyuubi's power. But that's when things got weird… I talked to him."

"The Kyuubi?" asked Kakashi, and Naruto nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "He said that his power answered my call without him having to be force it on me, that it just did. He said that it was because I'd gained these eyes, which were originally his father's, and it was because… what was it that he said? …because his father's power 'ran through my veins.'" Naruto frowned. "He kind of also implied that it was something that my ancestors had, so it's definitely some kind of Bloodline."

Kakashi mirrored his student's frown. "Did he say who this 'father' of his was?" he asked.

Naruto winced. "Yeah," he said, "he said… his father was the Sage of Six Paths."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," interrupted Zabuza, whom Naruto had somehow forgotten was still there. "Let me get this straight, you telling us that your eyes, this new Bloodline are yours, are the Rinnegan?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Yeah," he said. "Kurama specifically said 'Rinnegan.'"

"Who's… oh, Kurama is the Kyuubi?" asked Kakashi. At his student's nod, he continued, "Interesting… that means that the demon isn't exactly a mindless creature, it's a living being that thinks and acts accordingly… but then why..." The jounin trailed off.

"Sensei?" asked Sakura.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry, just thinking. Getting back on topic," said Kakashi, "those techniques you used, the one that pulled Zabuza towards you and the one that pushed everything off the bridge, those are Rinnegan techniques?"

Naruto nodded. "Kurama said that they were part of the Deva Path. I'm guessing that it's one of the six Paths of the Sage."

"Indeed. How to train such an ability however… I'm not sure how I, or your teammates, can you help you with this."

Naruto shrugged. "It's not like there's an instruction manual for this, Sensei," he said. "We'll figure it out."

"That's not the only thing," said Kakashi, "Secrecy. There are threats, Naruto, people and organizations that would go to the ends of the world to have your eyes. Even inside of Konoha there are people who would do anything it takes to have the power you now wield. Secrecy is  _vital_ , Naruto – there's no getting around that. Even some of the clans might not be exactly agreeable to you having those eyes."

"You're thinking of the Hyuuga," said Sasuke, his eyes narrowed in contemplation, "aren't you, Sensei?"

Kakashi nodded. "Ever since your clan was wiped out, Sasuke, you could say that they've become Konoha's most powerful Dōjutsu wielders," he said. "I wouldn't put it past some members of the clan to attempt to take out Naruto in order to keep that spot. The Rinnegan… The third great Dōjutsu."

"What do you mean, Sensei?" asked Sakura.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Well," he said, "like I said, there's three Great Dōjutsu in the world – the Three Great Eye Techniques. Konoha has been in possession of two of them practically since its founding; the Sharingan, and the Byakugan. However, the most powerful of the three, and most exalted, is the Rinnegan. It's to the point that Rinnegan wielders are said to be sent down from the heavens to become either a 'God of Creation' who will calm the world's disorder… that, or a 'Destroyer' who will reduce everything to nothingness."

Naruto felt himself paling. "I don't think mom ever told me  _that_  part of the story," he said.

"Well, like the Sage himself, most of what we know is based on legends and stories that have been passed down over the centuries," he said. "For example, the story of how the Sage was the creator of the Moon."

Naruto smiled in recognition. "Now  _that_ legend I remember," he said.

"So," said Sasuke, "Naruto has the Rinnegan because he's descended from the Sage, and I have the Sharingan because of my Uchiha heritage." He then turned to Sakura. "So when is your Byakugan going to develop?"

"What!?" yelped Sakura, surprised.

Sasuke smirked at her. "Well, you did say that the Haruno clan splintered off from the Hyuuga clan, right? You're descended from the Hyuuga, so you should have the potential to develop the Bloodline…"

"Oh, hahaha," answered Sakura in a deadpanned tone. "First of all, that's all speculation and rumors that I doubt will ever be confirmed, since the only people that could confirm that would be the Hyuuga themselves, and I don't see that happening."

"She has you there, Sasuke," butted in Naruto.

"And second of all," continued Sakura, ignoring Naruto, "why would I even want a Byakugan? It would I'm related to that clan! They're all arrogant pricks that act like they have-"

"He-hem," coughed Kakashi, cutting her tirade short. "As I was saying, we'll need to keep this under wraps when we get home. This will be for the Hokage's eyes only, so not a word to  _anyone_  about this, am I clear?"

"Hai, Sensei," answered the three genin.

Accepting their response, Kakashi then turned to Haku and Zabuza. "I can't answer for both of you but-"

"You don't even need to ask," interrupted Zabuza. "I know how to keep a secret, and this one… well, this is S-class information. I don't need Konoha's fury on me."

"The same goes for me," added Haku, the young girl smiling at Naruto. "I understand better than most what you will be going through, having had to hide my Bloodline from others when I was younger. My mother ingrained the habit in me before she died; your secret is safe with me."

Naruto hesitated for a moment before steeling himself and standing. "Then I am in your debt," he said, bowing deeply at the waist, standing straight after a few moments. "If you ever need anything in the future, all you need to do is ask, and I shall provide whatever assistance I can. I swear."

Zabuza inclined his head in acceptance. "To be honest," he said, "I hope I'll never need to ask. If I'm dealing with something that would require the help of a Sage, I'm pretty sure that I'd be killed before I get that chance."

"Still," said Naruto, "it'll be the least I could do to repay this debt."

"You four have done enough by letting us go," refuted Zabuza. "Speaking of which…"

"You're leaving?" asked Sasuke. His tone gave nothing away, but Naruto noticed how his eyes were trained on Haku as he'd spoken. Remembering what he'd caught Sasuke when he rescued him from Haku's ultimate technique, Naruto couldn't help but smirk, even as a moment later it was replaced with a frown and a glance at Sakura for her reaction.

Unfortunately for his teammate, she'd noticed how the Uchiha was looking at the last member of the Yuki clan. Naruto absentmindedly began preparing funeral rites for Sasuke in the back of his mind.

"As my father said," said Haku with a soft smile, "the sooner we leave, the better. We can heal and rest on the way to Kirin, lay low for a while. We'll be alright."

After a moment, Sasuke nodded grudgingly. "You're right," he said, "it's not really safe for you here." He looked at Haku straight in the eye, black eyes staring unflinchingly into kind brown. "Be careful," he said.

Haku's smile brightened  _that_  much more. "We will," she said. At her master/father's nod, Haku and Zabuza then stood up and headed towards the front door (Zabuza's sword was too big to fit inside the house, so it had remained outside).

It would be a long time before any of the members of Team 7 would see them again.

"So," said Sakura, breaking the silence that remained after the missing-nin left, her eyes narrowed at Sasuke. "What's going on between you and Haku?"

The Uchiha's poker face was perfected that day amidst Naruto's laughter, Sakura's interrogation, and Kakashi's teasing.

… **ooOoo…**

By that same time, two weeks later, Team 7 was in view of Konoha's gates. The group had departed from Wave country early in the morning, leaving Tazuna's home the day after the bridge was completed. They'd run non-stop up until lunch, where they took a quick bite and rest to recover before setting off again. As such, it was great cheer that Naruto raised his arms to the sky and shout, "I'm finally home!"

Kakashi chuckled at his students' cheer, even as Sakura joined in in the cheering. "Memorize this feeling, my cute little genin," he said. "You'll be feeling the exact same thing every time that you get back from a mission, especially one as tough as this one."

"Well I gotta say that it's a good feeling!" answered the blonde Uzumaki. "There's nothing like the first breath of fresh, Konoha air! Now that I know what it feels like when you're not home, I think it's one of the best things in the world!"

"I have to agree with him, Sensei," Sakura agreed. "I'm really looking forward to seeing my mom again. Sleeping in my own bed, waking up to train… yeah, it's nice to be home."

Kakashi nodded before looking at his final student. "And what about you, Sasuke?" he asked.

The Uchida took a few moments to answer. "Well, it's a good feeling," he said, "but I think that for me at least it's more because of  _how_  we got home." He looked up into the sky, a pensive expression on his face. "There were so many things that could have gone wrong on this mission, that I'm just glad that all of us are here. Because of this mission, we've all become much stronger and gained new abilities and tools to survive. I've gained my Sharingan, Sakura her new weapon, and Naruto… actually, I'm not sure  _what_ he gained," finished the Uchiha with a smirk.

Naruto caught on immediately. "Hey!" he yelled, "What's that supposed to mean!?"

"That you're a loser and a dead-last?"

"How 'bout I kick your ass and show you how much of a prick you are, huh?"

"You'd only end up be proving me right."

"Why you-!"

"How about I kick both of your butts and prove how useless you'd be without me, hmm?" Sakura snuck into the byplay as well, Warhammer in hand and a sweet smile on her face. "Though I'd have to go soft on you two, I might break a nail… good thing it won't be any of mine!"

Naruto and Sasuke were interrupted from replying by their teacher's laughter. "Oh you three," chuckled Kakashi, "I know you're excited to test your new skills against each other, but you seem to be forgetting something."

"What?" chorused the three.

"Well," said Kakashi, "first of all, Kotetsu and Izumo here are waiting for your passports and for you to sign in."

Three heads whirled around. In all their playing/arguing, the genin of team seven hadn't noticed that they'd reached the gate to the village, and that indeed, the gate guards on duty were in fact waiting for their ID's with amused expressions.

"Back from the first mission, huh?" said one of them.

Naruto chuckled, his hand rubbing the back of his head. "Yup!" he said, "We're heroes of Wave country now!"

"Sure, sure," said the other guard. "Whatever you say. Are you going to sign in now?"

"Hehehe…" Sakura blushed, laughing embarrassedly, "Sure, why not?" At her side, Sasuke couldn't help but groan at their antics, ignoring his own.

As they signed in, Kakashi spoke, "So, my cute little genin, what do you think is our next step?"

"We head to the tower," answered Sasuke, "and speak to the Hokage."

"Correct," nodded Kakashi. "Lead the way, you three. We're heading over there together."

This was the part that Naruto dreaded the most. Reporting to the Hokage was a requirement after every mission, though this varied depending on what department the ninja was working for. T&I members, like his mother, for instance, reported to Konoha's Intelligence Division, who took the information (duh) and processed it before handing the final report to the Hokage. In the case of genin teams, however, the Hokage himself evaluated and processed mission requests and reports so as to have a close eye on the new generation of shinobi and their development.

As such, there were two parts to the report – the written and the oral. The first, of course, was the most detailed of the two, containing every single event that occurred on the mission, while the latter was just a run-down version. Traditionally, written reports were submitted along with the oral, but Team Seven hadn't had the time to prepare one; due to the events of their mission they headed straight to the man's office.

Developing a legendary dōjutsu tended to give that kind of reaction.

It was almost no time at all before Naruto realized that he was standing before the desk of his grandfather-figure. Hiruzen Sarutobi was getting on his old age, but looking at him you wouldn't get that impression; instead, he still had the air of a leader, of a Hokage, one of the most powerful men in the land.

And that man was looking at him with the eyes that gave no emotion whatsoever. A glance around revealed that Team Seven was alone with Hiruzen; they must've been ordered out at some point and he hadn't noticed. He gave himself a mental smack in the head, noting that if he hadn't noticed his teacher giving their report either then he needed to do some serious work on himself.

"So, Naruto," said Sarutobi, "show me your eyes."

Naruto nodded, placing his eyes in the Snake seal, closing his eyes and channeling chakra to them. When he felt ready, he opened them, looking at the Third Hokage straight in the eye and trying to ignore how the Hokage's massive chakra fluctuated around the man's body.

"So it's true," said Sarutobi. "The eyes of the Sage see the world again." He motioned at Naruto, standing up as he did so. "Come closer," he said as he walked around the desk. Naruto took a few steps forward until he was standing in front of Sarutobi. The Sandaime looked into the single Rinnegan, humming as his eyes flitted from one eye to the other.

"They change color," he noted.

"Um, Lord Hokage," spoke up Sakura, "I noticed that as well. They go from purple to his natural blue."

"Indeed," he said, "though it seems as though the process is rather slow. So tell me, Naruto," the Hokage turned away, walking back to his desk and sitting down at the edge, "tell me what you can do so far."

Naruto took a deep breath. "Kurama called it the Deva Path," he said. "I can pull specific objects towards me, was well as push them away. Kurama – the Nine Tails – said that it was manipulation of Gravity, and that it's one of the paths of the Sage."

"Is that all?" asked the Hokage.

"No," Naruto shook his head, "that's not all. I can see chakra pathways, and I think that when I make clones I share my vision with them. You know, like a different point of view, but it gets confusing really fast. I tried it once, but since I didn't know what was going on I lost control of the jutsu… I think that's it so far, to be honest."

"You only just awakened the eyes," said Sarutobi, before looking at his teammates and teacher. "Did you three see anything else? Anything you might want to add?"

"There is," said Sasuke. "One of the missing-nine in Gatou's employ had an Ice Release Bloodline Limit. Her most powerful technique was using Ice Mirrors that allowed her to surround her opponent and boost her speed tremendously. Naruto was able to find a way that predicted from which mirror she was going to attack next, which makes me believe that he was seeing the chakra of the jutsu itself being activated."

"That's all?" said Hiruzen, and when nobody else added anything he nodded. "Very well. It seems to me that your dōjutsu hasn't quite developed, nor has it the same description of the Rinnegan we know. Perhaps with time or training you will be able to mature the eyes, but for now you remain incapable of using its full potential."

"Lord Hokage," said Sakura, "you said that Naruto's eyes didn't match the 'description we know.' What did you mean? As far as I know the eyes haven't been seen in millennia, right?"

The Sandaime shook his head. "This is classified information," he said, "that you're only hearing because of your relationship to Naruto. Up until a few years ago, there was another Rinnegan user alive."

Sakura gasped. "What?" she asked. "But how? Doesn't that mean-?"

"Whatever it means," interrupted the Hokage, "the existence of two sets of Rinnegan, one after the other, means that this is a time of change… and that you three will be at the center of it. As such, your training will be accelerated for the three of you."

"Lord Hokage, wouldn't it make sense for only Naruto's training to be accelerated?" asked Sasuke.

"Kakashi, why don't you answer your student?" said Hiruzen.

Kakashi nodded. "Sasuke, what is the first lesson that Konoha imparts onto her genin?" he asked.

"Teamwork," answered Sasuke.

"Exactly," said Kakashi. "So don't you think that it would look strange if suddenly Team Seven were to be split up for Naruto's individual training with you two left behind? You three are a team, a team that's worked together since your Academy days, meaning that to split the three of you would be unwise. You and Sakura will have to keep up with Naruto, simply because of the nature of his eyes – just their existence alone is enough to attract attention the likes of which you are not ready to deal with. The threats you'll face make me look like a pushover, so you three will have to train hard."

"Exactly," agreed Sarutobi. "I'll have my student, Jiraiya of the Sannin return to Konoha as soon as possible, for it was he who encountered this other Rinnegan user. He will definitely know more about the eyes than I do."

"Old Man, I noticed that you said 'up until a few years ago…'" said Naruto, "that means the other Rinnegan guy, he's dead, right?"

"As far as I know, yes," came the answer, "which only compounds the fact that the danger you face is far greater than anything we've encountered before. If someone with a dōjutsu as powerful as yours could be slain in battle, then you need to be even better than he was so that you'll be ready in time. All of you."

Naruto nodded, his expression solemn, and satisfied, Hiruzen turned to Kakashi, the Sarutobi's eyes like steel. "Alright Kakashi," he said, "I want you to train them, and train them well. Drive these three into the dust until they can't get up, and then bury them and kick them down until they get back up. And then I want you to bring them back down, again and again, until  _they_  are the ones kicking  _you_  into the ground. I want these three to be the best of the best of what Konoha has to offer. I want Team Seven's name to be feared throughout the Shinobi lands." He then turned to the three genin. "I want you three to be the best that Konoha has to offer. In two months, the Chūnin exams will be held here, in Konoha, and you three will participate and become Chūnin. You three will dominate each phase of the exam, and you will do so on your own skill. Make it so that everyone fears and admires you, hates you and yet wishes to become you.

"Naruto," the blonde straightened at the mention of his name, "you are to develop your dōjutsu and practice every technique it can provide as fast as possible, but ensure that everything you learn is  _mastered_  before you move on. I want quality over quantity."

"You got it, Old Man!" he said.

The Sandaime looked at the Uchiha. "Sasuke, I understand that your Sharingan awakened on this mission. Like Naruto, I want you to develop it until it is fully matured before the exams take place. You are to train in the use of your eyes, but let this be clear –  _I do not want you to depend on your eyes._  Train without them, train with them, but do not depend on them. Be a powerful ninja on your own merit, not by the gift of your clan. The same advice goes for you, Naruto."

"Hai, Lord Hokage," answered Sasuke.

"And finally, little Sakura," said Hiruzen. "Kakashi tells me that your potential for Genjutsu is untapped, so I want you to expand on that area as well. Train in the use of your new tool as well; there are no actual hammer users in our village, but I trust you'll be able to become proficient with it. And take this," he added, writing a small note, rolling it up and giving it to the pink-haired Kunoichi. "Tomorrow, when you go to your Iryo-nin classes, give that to your instructor. He'll know what to do. Do not neglect your training with your teammates, however; you need to be on par with both of them. You are a vital key to Team Seven, so do not fail them."

"I won't," promised Sakura, "I swear."

"Good," said Hiruzen. "A final order for all three of you – I want you three to be at least Tokubetsu jōnin level by this day, a year from now. You three are powerful ninja, blessed with great talent and untapped power, and I will not have you squander either one by being below-average ninja. Am I understood?" he finished.

"Yes, sir," chorused Team Seven with enthusiasm, strength and resolution.

"Then you're dismissed. Kakashi, give them the day and tomorrow off, you and I need to have a few words regarding missing-nin and letting them go. Naruto, you have permission to tell your mother about these events; you'll need her and her advice now more than ever, and Anko is a very powerful Kunoichi. As a matter of fact, I'll speak to Ibiki about giving her more free time from T&I – her teachings would be invaluable for you three. Now run along and enjoy your vacation; it'll be the last you'll have for a while."

"Yes, sir," they chorused again, this time without the energy of before. They left the Hokage's office then, collecting their pay slips from the man's secretary, Kakashi staying behind.

"Well, our first mission is officially over," said Naruto as they walked outside, the afternoon sun shining on the three of them. "And on top of that, we've got A-rank pay. I think this was a job well done, don't you think?"

"Yup," agreed Sakura. "You have to admit we were seriously lucky on this mission, but I think that we're much stronger because of how we dealt with it, right Sasuke?"

"Hmm," came the answer. "Not strong enough," he said, "but that's what training is for. I think I'll take Lord Hokage's advice and call it a day. We'll need the rest for tomorrow."

"And the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that," said Naruto. "Sasuke's right. There's a bed in a two bedroom apartment with my name on it, but more importantly, there's a stool in a ramen bar with bowls of heavenly food waiting for me. How about we wait for Kakashi-Sensei, get mom and Sakura's mom and head over to Ichiraku's to celebrate our first mission?"

"Really, Naruto?" said Sakura as they walked away from the building, "You call that rest?"

"It'll be the last time we have to unwind for a while, and you know it," he said in answer. "You know I'm right," he added with a smirk.

Sakura hesitated for a moment before giving her answer. "True," she said, "but we aren't staying long, alright? All three of us need to get some sleep, we're waking up early tomorrow!"

"Agreed," said Sasuke, "I'm thinking about hitting the training ground around six, get to work on the Sharingan."

"I'll be there," said Naruto.

"I'll join you two as soon as I get off from class," promised Sakura, "which according to this note the Hokage gave me might be a little earlier than usual. Hopefully I'll be off before lunch."

"Sweet!" said Naruto, Sasuke agreeing with a smirk. "So, I'll see you guys at Ichiraku's in, what, thirty minutes?"

"An hour," said Sasuke. "There's something I need to do."

"An hour it is," said Naruto. "See you guys!"

Waving his farewell, Naruto left his teammates at a dead sprint, running full pelt to his home. After all, there was someone he needed to see, someone that he needed to reassure that he was safe and sound, home at last. There was someone that he needed to talk to, because he knew that no matter what happened, his mother would always stand right by him.

And as he ran, he thanked every single god he could think of for the balance in his life. On the one hand, he had the curse of power, the burden of hatred and fear from those who coveted the gifts he carried. But on the other hand, he had friends, he had teachers, and he had a mother, all of whom would fight at his side, all of whom he would gladly take a hit for, all of whom he would fight for.

For he had family. And his mother was waiting for him to come home.

So he would.

And Naruto Uzumaki, Jinchūriki of the Nine Tailed Fox, and, even though he knew it not, the Third Sage of Six Paths, always kept his promises.

… **ooOoo…**

**_Next Arc: The Hero's Water, Seven Tails in the Land of Waterfalls!_ **

… **ooOoo…**


	7. Interlude: Welcome to Training Ground 1

**...ooOoo...**

“Sensei, where are we going?”

“Oh, you’ll see,” Kakashi answered Sakura’s query. “Trust me on this one, you’ll enjoy where I’m taking you three.”

Naruto grumbled. “We better,” he said, “I didn’t wake up at four in the morning just to be dragged around-”

“Well then maybe if you’d paid attention to what I told you yesterday, you’d have gone to bed earlier last night and wouldn’t be so tired this morning, or as grumpy now would you?” interrupted his sensei. Naruto glanced away, his slight mumbling halted by the massive yawn he let loose.

“Naruto has a point though,” spoke up Sasuke. “Even I’m a little curious as to where we’re going. Are you sure you aren’t lost?”

“Quite sure,” said Kakashi. “You never quite forget where this place is after you’ve been here once. Trust me on that one.”

“But why do we have to be here so early?” asked Naruto.

“Well…” drawled Kakashi. “It’s for one simple reason.” Naruto looked at his sensei, his expression betraying his massive curiosity as Kakashi opened his mouth and said: “Because I said so.”

This of course, made Naruto trip and fall under the surprise of such a statement. “I should’ve seen that coming,” he said as he picked himself up.

The team was walking towards the area where Konoha’s massive training grounds were located, on the west side of the village. Team 7’s standard training site was Training Ground Three, which was located southwards of the direction they were heading in currently. As such, even though the day before they had been told that they were being taken to a new training site, they were still confused as to where this site was, since the rest of Konoha’s training grounds were located south of their position, following the curve of the Great Wall surrounding Konoha.

“Kakashi-Sensei,” asked Sakura, “are we headed to the Zeroth Training Ground? I thought that was-”

“-a restricted area, yes,” said their teacher, his face still in his orange book, “The area where we’re headed is actually very close to that one. Don’t fret though, shinobi can only enter the natural preserve on special order of the Hokage. Besides, you wouldn’t want to mess with the animals in there, trust me.”

“Why not?” asked Naruto, confused.

“Well, over ten to twenty years ago, the No-Hunting District was formerly used as a testing ground for the Chūnin Exams,” said Kakashi, “but after a while, it was deemed unfit for the exams for… specific reasons. Since there wasn’t any other available use for the area, it was sealed off, and with years of different types of chakra usage and exposure to different chemicals and poisons and other substances from other villages _and_ our own… well, it’s been a while, but no one’s ever been able to figure out how that ecosystem has evolved yet.”

Sasuke frowned. “You’re talking as if the area is an organism of its own,” he said.

“In a way, yes,” nodded Kakashi. “Which is why it’s a restricted area. It doesn’t bother us, so we don’t bother it.”

Sasuke nodded, his own curiosity satisfied along with those of his teammates’, the group lapsing into silence. This of course, didn’t last; at least, not with Naruto Uzumaki there.

“So how much longer?”

“We’re almost there,” answered Kakashi patiently. “In fact, if you look up, you can see the roof of the gymnasium from over here…”

“Wait, seriously?” asked Naruto, looking for the building in question. Indeed, his teacher was right, but with the little light of the morning there were very little details to be discerned from such distance. Even so, it was obvious that the building in question was massive.

“A gymnasium, sensei?” asked Sakura. “But there are plenty of those in Konoha…”

“This one’s different,” said Kakashi, “since this gym was built for ninjas in mind.”

Naruto and Sakura exchanged excited glances, and even Sasuke couldn’t help but share in the feeling. Curiosity was rampant in their young minds, and it was becoming increasingly difficult for them to find restraint. Kakashi couldn’t help but chuckle as he looked at them out of the corner of his eye. _To be that young…_ he thought. _I hope they can conserve their happy outlook on life for as long as possible._

It was a few minutes later when they finally reached the building in question. Naruto craned his head upwards as he stared at the height of the roof, which seemed comparable to the height of the Great Wall of Konoha, which had been built by the First Hokage using his Wood Release Bloodline Limit. If this building seemed just as high and imposing as that from the outside, then there was no doubt that this place would quickly become one of Naruto’s favorite places in Konoha.

“Alright, my cute little genin,” said Kakashi as he opened the double doors leading into the gym and spreading his arms out. “Welcome… to Training Ground One, also known as the Gymnasium.”

If there was a word that could describe the place, that word was _open_. The next word that could describe the place was _loud._ The area inside of the Gymnasium was around the size four or five football fields placed side-by-side-by-side, with the Gymnasium divided in different areas. There was a roaring in the Gymnasium as well, a loud constant sound that almost drowned out the sound of dozens of shinobi fighting each other, or the sounds of metal hitting metal as dumbbells were lifted.

“Now, as you can see,” said Kakashi, fighting to make himself heard over the din, “the Gymnasium is divided into three different Sections that are specialized in different aspects of Shinobi training. Section 1, the closest to us,” he pointed at an area filled with exercise equipment and boxing rings, “is focused on physical strength and endurance training. The second Section, beyond the first, is focused on pure Shinobi combat, as you can see.” Kakashi pointed at the area in question, where even at five in the morning already there were people fighting against each other on dozens of open tatami mats or on the flat concrete ground. Some people were fighting one-on-one, but others were also fighting in groups against each other.

“And finally,” continued Kakashi, pointing at the final section, “we have the _Amerina_ , which I dare say is a favorite among those who come here.” Team Seven could see why – simulated rain was falling from the ceiling, crashing down on the concrete surface of the Gymnasium and causing the roaring sound that permeated the building. Here, as well, Shinobi were fighting and practicing in the Section, which had different types of areas within to simulate different environments – flat surfaces for classical fights, or more obstacle riddled areas for more acrobatic-like fights.

“Amerina… Ame Arena – The Rain Arena,” said Sasuke. “Catchy name.”

“How does the rest of the Gym stay dry?” asked Sakura. “Isn’t there a drizzle or a sort-of mist that should spread over to the rest of the building?”

“Theoretically, yes, there should,” said Kakashi, “but in fact, there is a Sealing Barrier that cordons off that Section from the rest the building. It’s designed for water only, and doesn’t require much chakra to sustain, so it’s perfect for the ‘rain.’ Still, as you can see, there’s no ninjutsu being thrown around in that area since there’s so many people in close proximity to each other. On top of that, the Barrier won’t stop a stray jutsu, just the rain.” Here, Kakashi turned to his students with an expectant look. “So, tell me – was it worth waking up at four in the morning to come here?”

Naruto’s grin was answer enough for the Team. “Definitely,” he said, “I can see we’re going to have some great training here, believe it!”

Kakashi chuckled. “I thought so,” he said, before his demeanor became more serious. “Alright, so yesterday after training, I mentioned that there were going to be some changes in our training schedule. It’s been three days since we got back from Wave country, and already you’ve felt that I’ve been pushing you harder than before.”

 _Understatement of the century,_ was the shared thought between the genin.

“Well I’m telling you right now that it’s only going to get worse,” Kakashi continued. “We’re going to come here to the Gymnasium three times a week, and bring up your endurance using the arenas here. From five in the morning all the way till seven in the afternoon, we’re going to be hitting this Gymnasium and drive you three into the ground. And before you say anything, Sakura, I’ve already spoken to your Iryo-nin instructor.”

The three genin were standing at attention, hands clasped behind their straight backs and feet placed at shoulder width, with their expressionless faces betraying nothing of the dismay that they were feeling at their new training regimen.

 _Fourteen hours of non-stop endurance training?_ Thought Naruto, _How in the name of the Sage are we supposed to freakin’_ survive _this? Could this get any worse?_

“Oh, and there’s no lunch while we train here.”

 _Me and my luck,_ thought Naruto. _I guess the point of this training is that we’re not supposed to survive._

Kakashi held up a familiar red pill. “Your bodies aren’t used to the consumption of these, so we’re also going to train that as well. At lunch time, you three are going to consume a quarter of a pill, which should be enough to rejuvenate your body and restore your chakra enough to keep going for the day.”

“Why not the full pill?” asked Sasuke.

“Sakura?” said Kakashi, motioning for her to answer. “You should know this, please answer your teammate.”

Sakura nodded. “It’s because the pill isn’t made for regular consumption,” she said. “The pills are made up of powerful stimulants and nutrients, said to allow the user to keep fighting for three days and three nights without rest. At the end of the three days effect however, the shinobi in question is brought to the point of complete and utter exhaustion.”

“Correct,” said Kakashi, “On top of that, however, there’s also the fact that if you swallow one of these pills without your body, being used to it, you could potentially kill yourself from the overload of chakra in your system. Your bodies aren’t used to these pills, so that’s why I’m starting you off on such small amounts. Besides,” he gave his patented eye-smile, “three days’ worth of energy is a bit overkill for now, even with your new training regimen.

“Speaking of which, what we’re going to be working on here, as I said, is your endurance. For your age, the three of you already have an impressive amount of stamina, but we can still bring that level up even higher. The reason for this is that while you could probably outlast a higher-ranked enemy, you can’t overpower them yet for obvious reasons.”

“So you want us to be able to have enough time to outsmart a more powerful enemy,” said Sasuke, “by teaching us how to _make_ that time.”

“Exactly,” said Kakashi, “which is why I’m going to teach you three a new way of fighting.”

“Oh cool!” said Naruto, grinning in excitement, “What are you teaching us, Sensei? Is it a deadly style of taijutsu? Something that involves new jutsu? Or maybe a new secret art of some kind that-”

“I’ll teach you three how to box,” interrupted Kakashi.

Silence. Strangely, it was Sakura the one that broke it. “But sensei, wouldn’t that mess with what we’ve learned in taijutsu?” she asked.

“Normally, it would,” came the answer, “ _if_ I was teaching you the full art. All I’m going to teach you, really, is how to hit, how to take a hit, and how to move around an opponent. This is the kind of stuff that the academy only partially covers; the basics of every taijutsu style. On the other hand, I’ll also put you three through the training regimen that boxers normally go through to bring up their stamina.”

“Isn’t boxing for civilians?” asked Naruto.

“Yes, it is, but mostly because the fighting style doesn’t require chakra techniques or the huge amount of mobility that ninja have. As such, it’s one of the few fighting styles that we permit civilians to learn so they can defend themselves. Muay Thai, Sakura’s taijutsu style, is another one of those,” said Kakashi. “While taijutsu styles at its core don’t require chakra for their usage, each style has a limit as to how far you can go in its proficiency without the use of chakra.

“Take Naruto, who’s still learning two styles at once. Snake style doesn’t require much chakra at all; in fact, the only requirement that the style really has is the high amount of flexibility. Fox style, on the other hand, is more chakra intensive since you need to be able to quickly dance around your opponent and go in when you have a chance, striking fast and hard on a single spot multiple times before retreating. It’s possible to do without the use of chakra, but at your level you still require it to move as fast as you need.

“Now let’s take Muay Thai,” said Kakashi. “The Art of Eight Limbs. This style’s basic requirement is high amount of strength, along with a high pain threshold. The reason for this is because Sakura’s style is more… linear, would be a proper way to say it, while Naruto’s both styles are more mobile. Muay Thai is an art that requires being able to hit _hard_ and strike from places that enemy wouldn’t expect from. That’s why it’s called the Art of Eight Limbs, since that’s what you have to strike with – two fists, two shins, two elbows, and two knees. On top of that, clinching is a basic requirement for the art – Sakura’s art means that she has to stick to her opponent in order to bring them down at a very short range.

“Now let’s think about what happens when Sakura enhances her taijutsu with chakra,” said Kakashi.

Naruto shuddered. “Ok, I see where you’re going with this,” he said. “You’re going to bring up our endurance without chakra, so that when we _do_ use chakra we’ll be practically unstoppable.”

“Correct,” came the answer. “So let’s get started, shall we?”

One of the first lessons that Ninja are taught is how to access and manipulate the chakra that exists in their bodies. Within their first month at the Academy, ninja-in-training are taught how to use and see this power, but before that first month they are merely aware that the power is there without feeling it.

Once ninja go through with that training of activating their chakra pathways, there is no turning back, and chakra is constantly running through a ninja’s body until the day of their death. As such, a ninja’s body becomes used to unconsciously channeling chakra in order to perform the smallest and greatest of tasks and to help a ninja’s development as they grow – ninja in general, even without training, are naturally much stronger and agile than a common civilian.

And yet, there were civilians that through time, effort and training could match up to the prowess of a ninja, so that the phrase “the weakest ninja in the world would always be stronger than the strongest civilian in the world” would never be true. Civilians that mastered the art of boxing, for example, could easily defend themselves from a genin or low-level chūnin, so when Team Seven started their endurance training, it showed.

Their growth would be tested not one month after their return from Konoha.

**…ooOoo…**

If there was one thing that Naruto hated nowadays, it was being treated differently.

Oh, it wasn’t as if _everything_ had changed. His friends still saw him for he was, as did his teachers and the two servers at Ichiraku Ramen. Even old man Hokage still treated him as he usually did when he showed up on the weekends to help him out with his paperwork as he’d been doing since he’d enrolled in the academy.

No, the one person that was treating him differently was his mother.

Anko was… well, it was hard to explain. The twenty-four year old special jōnin was one of the strongest in the village, in Naruto’s opinion. She was both talented and skilled, with an array of abilities and quirks that made her a nightmare to face in combat. She was sadistic and unrelenting to the people she interrogated in her day job (there was _never_ a shortage of those), breaking their minds by however the situation called for: bit by bit in a process that left her victims a quivering shell or in a single, unforgiving blast that left them shaken and shocked. Both worked just as well.

But at home, the jounin’s coat was put up in a hangar next to the door, and his mother would smile at him. And everything would be well, no matter what. Even though the day would be hell for either one of them, they could always look forward to have their day brightened by the presence of the other. Even if Anko couldn’t cook to save her life, or Naruto couldn’t understand why his mother preferred dango over ramen, or that either one couldn’t clean up after themselves leaving the apartment a messy pigsty, life was just perfect between the two.

But Naruto could tell that things had changed since the mission to Wave country.

Over the years, his mother had raised in him in a way that was reminiscent to the way she was – independently. Like him, she’d lived her early years as an orphan – her parents had been killed in the Third Shinobi World War – so she didn’t have anyone to depend on. As such, when Anko had adopted Naruto into her care she’d only curved out those habits and tendencies that she felt would be detrimental to his future, like his loudness or his gods-forbidden extreme love for the color orange.

He still shuddered at the memory of those jumpsuits burning, as well as Anko’s crazy smile.

Anyways, as it happened, the way he’d been brought up probably turned out best for the both of them. Having lived on the streets for so long, he’d reached a level of independence and maturity that most children didn’t have at his age, so Anko didn’t have to do much overhauling, so to speak. Instead, it was only a matter of talking to him, telling what was right and what was wrong, and more importantly, _why_. Why he had to do this, why he had to listen and think before talking, why he had to be quiet or _at_ _least_ not so loud, _especially_ in the mornings… things like that. And yet, it was enough. The boy had grown and taken his lessons to heart and was on the road to being a fine young man.

But now, his mother’s calm and usually aloof attitude when it came to him had been switched out for something more focused, in a way. Ever experienced Anko’s fussing? Few people could understand how that felt, all of them countable on one hand and have fingers left over. It was… unique, to say the least, carrying her own special brand of personality to the point of being borderline stalker-like. She’d show up at his training on days out of the schedule they’d agreed on, for example, making sure he was fine before rushing back to work, and at home she’d hover nearby, keeping constant vigilance over him out of the corner of her eye.

The last straw had been when she’d attempted to cook dinner.

It had started off with a bang, to be honest (the figurative kind, not the literal. They lived in a building filled with active shinobi, how do you think _that_ would end up?), since first she had to raid the pantry for stuff to cook. After realizing that they kept that filled with junk food, mostly, she’d rushed out _personally_ to the market and looked for supplies, leaving her son bewildered for a moment before she rushed back to the apartment, grabbed him by the arm and body flickered the two to the market. She then proceeded to drag him from stand to stand, checking items out with an experienced (read: inexperienced) eye before purchasing them and ignoring her son’s protesting words of _you don’t know how to cook stop this before you kill us_. After all that, they went back to the apartment and she tried to make dinner.

The family of two took a long look at the result, flinching in unison when the thing _moved._ Two kunai knives immediately flew through the air and stabbed it to the wall, where it died with a keening sound.

Naruto looked at his mom with a deadpan stare. “This happened the last time you tried to cook, mom,” he said. “No offense, but you suck.”

“Well I don’t see you trying to do something about it!” came the irritated answer.

“I _did_ do something about it,” he said, “I threw a knife at it. Also, I sent a clone out and got us dinner from the usual place-”

“Where is it!?” snapped Anko, her eyes wild and slightly insane, “Give me the food!”

“-and hid it appropriately because I figured something like this would happen,” he finished with a frown. “Mom, what’s going on?”

Anko hesitated for a single moment. “Nothing’s going on,” she answered, turning away and heading for the… _thing_ with another knife in hand. She lunged, stabbing it quickly, and there was another pained keen. Dear gods, it was still _alive_!? “You missed,” she told her son, pulling _it_ out of the wall and depositing it in the trash, knives and all.

Naruto frowned. “It’s not like those things have some kind of anatomy I’m familiar with,” he answered her latter statement. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“There was nothing to answer,” said Anko, sealing the trash bin and creating a clone. “Get rid of this thing, will you?” The clone gave its creator a glare worthy of herself before doing as told, vanishing in a Body Flicker.

“Yes, there is,” said Naruto, his gaze on his mother as she moved to the kitchen counter and promptly sat on it.

“No, there isn’t.”

“Is.”

“Isn’t.”

“Isn’t.”

“Is.”

“Ha!”

“Wha-? Oh come on!” protested Anko, “that’s no fair!” She pouted at him, but her lips twitched at the corners before letting loose her soft laughter, Naruto joining in.

“Seriously though,” he said once they’d calmed down, “you’re worrying me, mom. What’s going on?”

Anko sighed, looking down at her clasped hands in her lap. “Don’t look at me like that,” she mumbled.

“Huh?”

Anko huffed. “Your eyes,” she said, her gaze back to her son. “Just when did they stop looking like the innocent blue eyes of that seven-year-old I picked up off the street?”

“Mom?” asked Naruto, confused. “Where are you going with this?”

His mother sighed. “It’s just…” she trailed off, taking a deep breath. “Naruto, honey, these past six years… they’ve been the best of my life. I was eighteen when we met, and I was nineteen when I became a mother. I’ve raised you, alone, by myself, and it’s been a blast. We’ve had fun, we’ve had fights, and we’ve… we’ve been the thing we’ve always wanted. A family. You’re my son, and I love you, Naruto.” Anko’s breath hitched, and Naruto was surprised, no, _shocked_ to see tears forming in the corner of her eyes. “But now I know how all those other mothers feel when their children go off on missions on war. It feels like my soul is being torn, because it shouldn’t be _you_ out there, it should be _me_ , fighting, killing, _surviving,_ instead of-”

Anko’s breath hitched again, and the tears started to fall. Immediately, Naruto rushed forward and hugged his mother for all he was worth, feeling her shake as she cried into his chest. He could feel tears of his own forming, but he knew that now, for once, he would be _her_ pillar of strength.

Meanwhile, his mother kept talking, “But I understand t-that there’s n-nothing I can do!” she wailed. “I know that you c-can’t stay and be my little boy, t-that you have to s-s-suffer and grow up, and now you have these _eyes_ and people are going to _hunt_ you and oh dear gods what if people like _Orochimaru_ find out about you-!”

“Hey, hey,” Naruto consoled her, “Sh, sh, sh, it’s okay,” he said, holding her as Anko for one of the few times in her life let loose on the tears and fears she’d held in since adopting Naruto. “It’s okay, mom, it’s okay,” he said, rocking her side to side, arms around her, until her sobs subsided. Naruto moved back, looking at his mother straight in her eyes. “Mom, do you trust me?” he asked.

Anko sniffed. “Of course I do, what kind of a question is-?”

“Do you trust Kakashi?”

“Well, yeah, b-but-”

“Do you trust Sasuke and Sakura to watch my back?”

“They don’t have much experience, but yeah-”

“Then you have nothing to worry about,” Naruto cut her off again. “Mom, I knew from the first day that being a ninja was going to be hard. I knew that since the day that the Old Man gave me the offer, from the very day that he explained to me what it meant to be Hokage. Mom, I always knew that I would constantly be in danger. But do you know why I never changed my mind, even after knowing all the danger?”

“Honey, Naruto-”

“Because of you, mom,” he said, smiling, “because I met the most precious person I could ever find in this whole village. Because of you, because of my friends, my _family_ , because I made myself a promise, a promise that I’d become strong enough be become Hokage so that I’d be able to protect you all!” Naruto grinned at her, even as Anko’s eyes widened at the conviction in her son’s voice. “So don’t you worry mom, I’ll grow strong, stronger than anyone in this or any of the other Hidden Villages! I’m Naruto Uzumaki, dattebayo, and someday, I’ll be Hokage! I’ll be strong enough to protect you and everyone I love, and that’s a promise, a promise I’ll never break! Because that’s my ninja way!”

For a few moments, there was silence in the kitchen. Anko sniffed a couple of times, wiping her eyes before giving Naruto a bright smile. “That’s going to take a while,” she said, “but I look forward to the day that I can proudly see you wear that hat. Now come here,” Anko sniffed once last time before grabbing her son and hugging him for all he was worth, Naruto returning the sentiment. “I’m so proud of you, Naruto, I want you to know that. Never lose that smile of yours. Never lose that heart. Never falter, never give up, and one day, Naruto, you’ll see your dreams come true.”

And Anko believed her own words. She could see it in her mind – her son, her beautiful son, smiling down at Konoha, wearing the Hokage’s hat, the emblem of the Land of Fire catching the light as his eyes sought out her own, her smile bared to the world while she looked on proudly.

**…ooOoo…**


	8. Suien’s Return, Clash in Taki!

Arc II – The Hero's Water, Seven Tails in the Land of Waterfalls!

**...ooOoo...**

Three weeks. It took three weeks for Team Seven to finally get another mission.

Normally, Naruto would be glad, excited even, to get another C-Ranked mission after two grueling weeks of nonstop training, even though they’d been off of D-ranks since their return from Wave country. The problem was in the mission itself, or rather, the client.

See, after Team Seven’s experience with Tazuna, Naruto had adopted a more serious mentality when it came to their clients. This mostly stemmed off of the fact that even though he’d meant well, Tazuna had lied to them regarding the mission’s details – specifically, the fact that Gatou, a sleazy businessman/crime lord who’d made his fortune off of slavery, raiding and the like had been targeting him, marking the old bridge builder for death by sending a missing-ninja after him, a man known as Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist. The simple C-ranked mission had turned into a deadly A-ranked mission, and the four members quickly found themselves fighting for their lives against the man and his apprentice, and by a combination of luck and skill, got away with minimal injury, a dead Gatou, a completed bridge, and two missing-nin that owed a debt to them.

The mission’s results had left them changed, no doubt, and Naruto, looking back at the month since their return from Wave was proud to say that most of the change had been good. True, Naruto and Sakura had made their first kills in that mission, something that they’d had to deal with upon their return home, but other than that, the change had been positive. For one, both Sasuke and Naruto had awakened their Dōjutsu, the latter being a surprise to them all – the elusive Rinnegan had definitely not been expected, but not unwelcome. As such, even Sakura found herself undergoing changes, having found a nice weapon in Wave Country that suited her fighting style.

Naruto had been on the receiving end of her warhammer more often than either Kakashi or Sasuke.

That being said, the hyperactive-number one, most surprising knucklehead ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves had found himself looking forward to this mission. At the order of the Hokage himself, Team Seven had found themselves completely relieved of D-ranked missions, undergoing horribly tough training comparable to that of ANBU intensity, so Naruto had felt ecstatic at the thought of testing out how much he’d grown through the past month.

Only to be dumped with _this_ guy.

The individual in question was Shibuki of the Hidden Waterfall Village. He was the leader of the small settlement, a Village that had been an ally of Konoha since the days of the Shodaime Hokage. Team Seven had been tasked to escort Lord Shibuki to his home village after news of his father passing away reached Konoha, Shibuki having been the one to deliver the news almost a month prior. He’d stayed in Konoha, negotiating contracts with the village, but was finally ready to go home. And so, Lord Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, had assigned Team Seven to take him back to his village.

It wasn’t until they were on their way that Naruto realized that their client was in fact, a coward.

Sakura had asked their sensei about the man’s father. Apparently the previous leader of the Takigakure had been a brave and kind man, a strong leader in his own right, but Shibuki unfortunately was _not_ a chip off the old block. It hadn’t been more apparent when a simple bird had taken off from a nearby branch as they were walking in the dense forest surrounding Taki, and Shibuki had cowered behind Sakura.

“Uhh,” said Naruto, “it’s just a bird-”

“I know it’s a bird!” cried Shibuki, continuing to hide behind Team Seven’s medic kunoichi. It was this kind of behavior that made Naruto doubt in the village’s expertise in choosing their leaders.

Unknowingly to him, there were other individuals of the same mindset, but different intentions. _Very_ different intentions.

The group had continued on after this small incident, and soon after that they’d reached the entrance of the Hidden Waterfall Village. The massive waterfall emerged from the top of a cliff that was hundreds of feet high, the edges touching the clouds. The sound alone was like a constant roar, even from a distance, and Naruto found himself staring in awe at one of Mother Nature’s most beautiful creations.

“Now that’s what I call a Waterfall!” he said.

“Yes,” agreed Kakashi, “Impressive isn’t it?”

“I take it this means we’ve arrived,” said Sasuke.

The sun was shining, the summer was almost over, and they’d reached the entrance to Takigakure without any incident. Mission accomplished… or so it seemed. As the group of five walked around the small lake at the bottom of the waterfall, a pair of children emerged from the nearby trees.

“Lord Shibuki!” they cried, “You’re back!”

“Now, now,” said Shibuki as they rushed him, “Keep your distance, show a little respect for your village leader.” He crossed his arms and tried to look stern. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to play with you right now.”

“But that’s not why we’re here!” said the little boy. “We’re supposed to clean up the trash by the shore!”

“Mother’s making us pick up every piece!” agreed the girl, probably his sister.

“I see,” said Shibuki. “Well look, I’ve brought you some help!” He motioned at the genin behind him, Naruto looking surprised. “These brave ninja have come all the way from the Hidden Leaf Village!”

“Hey, now wait a sec-”

“We’ll gladly pay you for your time,” Shibuki interrupted Naruto. “Just think about it as part of the mission.”

Naruto was about to respond rather angrily, but after a moment stopped to consider it. _Cleaning up garbage doesn’t sound nice,_ he thought, _but if we could get some time in the lake, maybe swim a little… we_ would _get paid to help…_

“Well…” he started, looking at this teacher. “Kakashi-Sensei?”

“Oh why not,” agreed Kakashi, “We’ll be glad to help, but this would cost you extra on top of our escort fee.” Shibuki nodded agreeably at the man’s words.

“So does this mean our bodyguard duty is over?” asked Sasuke.

“Yeah,” said Shibuki, “I’m home now, safe and sound!”

“In that case, time to begin phase two of the mission,” said Kakashi.

“Alright!” said Sakura – apparently, she’d arrived at the same conclusion her teammate had. Next to her, Sasuke simple looked pleased at the mission’s outcome.

Little less than an hour later, the genin members of Team Seven were almost finished with their new task as Kakashi and Shibuki conversed quietly.

“Perhaps it was a good idea to hang around a little longer,” said Kakashi, his one visible eye focused on the red book in his hands. “We’ve been catching rumors.”

“What kind of rumors?” asked Shibuki, trying to read the book curiously from over his shoulder.

“Oh, you know, the kind of rumors about certain rogue ninja having plans for your village,” said Kakashi.

“There are always those kind of rumors,” countered Shibuki. “It doesn’t really mean anything.”

Kakashi closed his book with a snap. “Maybe,” he said, standing up, “but it doesn’t hurt to check. Besides,” he added, giving Shibuki a piercing look, “didn’t your father once have to fight off a group of ninja like that?”

Shibuki frowned and looked away, only to cry out in alarm and cover his head as a bird swooped close to him.

“Nothing to worry about,” said Kakashi nonchalantly, “It’s just a messenger bird from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Air Mail, special delivery.” He quickly read through the message. “Apparently someone’s looking for me.”

“Does this mean you’re leaving?” asked Shibuki.

“I’m afraid so,” said Kakashi, “but don’t worry, the others can stay here and finish the job. Hey, guys!” he yelled, catching his student’s attention. “I’m sorry for missing out on all the fun, something’s come up and I need to get back to the Village.”

“Did something happen?” asked a concerned Sakura.

“Nothing to worry about,” answered Kakashi, “but they’ve called an emergency session of the jōnin council. You’ll all follow once you’re done here.”

“Got it,” said Sasuke.

“We’ll finish up soon, don’t worry Sensei!” said Naruto. “The future Hokage’s got this job in the bag!”

“Right,” deadpanned Kakashi. “See you all soon, and be careful!” With that, the last Hatake took off at a run, vanishing quickly into the forest. Soon after that, the three genin continued their job, albeit at a more hurried place, finishing almost an hour later.

By now, it was very much past midday, and Naruto’s stomach found itself hungry. “Man, I’m beat!” he said, setting aside the basket he’d been using to pick up the trash and sitting down on the edge of the small lake, feet still in the water and being careful of his coat not getting wet. He looked over at Shibuki and the two kids and grinned. “So, do you guys have lunch around here or what?” he asked.

“No, we don’t, so get lost,” snapped Shibuki, surprising Naruto.

“What the-?” he exclaimed, standing up, “Hey, what gives!”

“You heard me!” said Shibuki, eyes narrowed at Naruto, “You’ve done your job, so get out of here!”

“What the hell!?” Naruto was nonplussed at Shibuki’s attitude – first he acts like a coward, but then he goes all asshole on them? “What’s wrong with you!? We’re doing you a major favor, and you can’t even say thank you? Jeez, what a jerk!”

“A favor you’re being paid for,” returned Shibuki.

“You treat your villagers like this?” asked Naruto, returning the glare being sent at him, “’Cause if you do, I’m pretty sure on how much your village actually likes and respects you-”

“Are you deaf!? I said get out of here!”

“Alright then,” said Sasuke, “We’ll leave. Come on.” He punctuated his words by turning around and heading towards where the group had stashed their packs for the moment.

“Wait, Sasuke!” Sakura caught up to him.

“The secret entrance to Takigakure must be nearby,” said Sasuke. “They don’t trust us, and most likely doesn’t want us to see it.”

“They would really distrust us that much?” wondered Sakura, “But our villages are allies!”

“For now, yeah,” said Sasuke. “But what if tomorrow war breaks out and our villages are enemies? What’s to keep us from betraying them?”

From his position over by the lake, Naruto frowned thoughtfully. “It makes sense,” he grudgingly admitted, before glaring at Shibuki. “That still doesn’t excuse your attitude.”

“Naruto’s right,” said Sakura, mirroring Naruto’s frown, “You’re being very ungrateful.”

“Whatever,” said Shibuki, looking away from the genin, “now would you please just get out of here?”

For a few moments, Naruto kept glaring at Shibuki. “Fine,” he said at last, turning away from Taki’s leader and walking out of the lake towards his teammates. “Jerk. Come on, guys, let’s leave this dump.”

“Bye Naruto! Thanks for all the help!” said the young boy.

“Yeah, thanks!” cried his sister.

Naruto didn’t look back but still waved a hand. “It wasn’t a problem, so long-!”

“MOTHER!”

The three genin whirled, catching sight of an overweight woman hobbling out of the forest. She was bruised all over, and there was a small trail of blood behind her.

“L-lord Shibuki,” said the woman, her voice weak, “It… it was awful, I…”

Shibuki was frozen, but somehow managed to speak up, “What is it!? What happened!?”

The woman kept walking towards him. “They attacked without warning,” said the woman, “The demon tried to hold them off, but she… she…” Whatever she was going to say was lost as her eyes rolled up into her head and she slumped to the ground, the kunai embedded in her back revealing itself as the source of blood.

“Mother!” cried the little girl as she, her brother and Shibuki rushed to the woman’s side, Team Seven right behind them. Sakura immediately got to work, kneeling next to the woman with her palm glowing with green chakra as her medical training kicked in.

“It’s not lethal,” said Sakura, running her glowing hand around the wound, “but she’s lost a lot of blood. I can patch her up, and once she gets some sleep she should be fine.”

The boy looked up with an urgent expression. “We need to get back to the village!” he cried.

“No,” interceded Sasuke, “that wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“She said they attacked without warning,” said Naruto. He glanced at Shibuki, “And what did she mean, ‘the demon tried to hold them off’?”

The term hit too close to home for him to let it pass.

“I don’t understand,” said Shibuki, his eyes on the unconscious woman, “It’s impossible! How could somebody even _find_ the village?”

“Nothing’s impossible, Shibuki, not in this world,” retorted Naruto, even as he noticed how Shibuki had dodged his question. “Sakura, take the woman and the kids somewhere safe, patch her up and guard them.”

Sakura nodded. “Alright,” she said, “What will you and Sasuke do in the meantime?”

The two dōjutsu wielding teammates looked at each other and nodded once. “We’re going to finish this,” said Sasuke.

“Oh you will, huh?” interrupted Shibuki. “I’d like to see that-”

“Oh would you just shut up!” snapped Naruto, “If Kakashi-Sensei were here you wouldn’t be arguing, but just because we’re kids doesn’t mean we can’t take care of these guys, whoever they are! Now just show us the entrance to the village so we can get our job done!”

“How could you help us anyway- guh!” Shibuki grunted as Naruto tackled him to the ground. “What the-? What’re you-!?”

“Stay down!” yelled Naruto as a group of five ninja emerged from behind the waterfall, Sasuke already moving to engage them.

“Alright!” cried the leader of the rogue ninja, a muscular man with dark grey hair, a blue stripe across his nose and a slashed-Amegakure Forehead Protector, wearing a black, sleeveless shirt, grey pants, ninja sandals, and brown-colored arm warmers. “Let’s finish this! Now!” The man and the four other ninja immediately threw a massive barrage of kunai, all of which were headed towards the group.

They didn’t count on Sasuke, however. The Last Loyal Uchiha unveiled a Demon Wing Shuriken, snapping the blades open and throwing it towards the group. The Shuriken whirled through the air, surprising the missing-nin as it knocked all of their thrown blades clean out of the air, only to watch in horror as it came back, this time heading towards them.

Their terror only multiplied when the Shuriken split into two. Cries of agony rent the air as the two massive Shuriken cleaved four of the ninja clean in half, even as the leader dodged in the air, propelling himself off of one of the carcasses and landing on a rock at the base of the waterfall.

“So they’ve got help, huh?” said the leader, narrowing his eyes before widening them, jerking his head to the side and narrowly avoiding a couple of Kunai aimed for the head. The man then jumped into the waterfall, disappearing behind the water as Sasuke’s two Shuriken returned to his grasp.

“Dammit,” said Naruto, hand still extended from throwing the Kunai, “I missed!”

Sakura didn’t say anything, but her thoughts and starry eyes were on Sasuke. _Oh wow,_ she thought, a small blush on her cheeks, _I love it when Sasuke gets all steely-eyed…_ She shivered, picturing the boy’s eyes in her mind, the intensity of the gaze captured perfectly while imagining that _she_ was on the receiving end of that look and that it was with a whole other intention in mind…

“Lord Shibuki!” yelled the little boy, distracting her as he ran past her towards the cowering village leader. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

Shibuki uncurled himself from his fetal position on the ground and stopped shivering, looking at the boy with a smile. “I uh, it’s nothing, don’t worry,” he said, “I was just over-excited, that’s all!”

 _Over-excited?_ Thought Naruto, _Really? Is that what you call it? Wow._

Meanwhile, Sasuke stepped out of the water. “Alright,” he said, “We’re invested in this, so now we’re definitely seeing this through to the end.”

A few feet away, Naruto grinned. “I guess we’re going to get some combat training today, huh?” he said, his tone excited. “I could use a little warm-up for when we get back home!”

“For when I beat you again, you mean?” said Sasuke.

“Pff, as if,” said Naruto. “You on your best day couldn’t beat me on my worst day, believe it!”

At their side, Shibuki looked to the roaring waterfall, his mind on a jar of precious water hanging in a hidden alcove deep inside the village. _I have to make sure it’s safe,_ he thought, _I have to get to the Water before whosever attacking does._ He glanced at the bickering genin, _I only hope that it’s not too late._

**…ooOoo…**

A few minutes later, once Sakura had vanished with her charges, Shibuki led Naruto and Sasuke around the small lake towards the waterfall, approaching from the side.

“These natural surroundings have protected our village from most of our enemies,” he was explaining as they climbed up a massive rock close to the falls. Naruto looked up, breathing in the mist caused by the waterfall and feeling it soothingly on his face. “The only way to the village is through the waterfall,” finished Shibuki.

“Is there really an entrance down there?” asked Sasuke, looking down at the tons of water pouring down the cliff face and knowing that anyone unfortunate to get caught under that would be crushed against the rocks below, if not drowned by the strong current. It made him wonder how that ninja had escaped through the waterfall.

“Let me make one thing clear,” said Shibuki, “You must never reveal the secret entrance to anyone, do you understand?”

“We do,” said Naruto, a serious expression on his face; this was no time for playing around. “Now let’s go.”

He then jumped off of the rock and onto a wide ledge that led behind the waterfall, Shibuki and Sasuke hot on his heels. The blonde Uzumaki soon found himself in a cave system with pools of water located every few feet from each other. Ascertaining that Shibuki couldn’t see him, he pulled a pair of sunglasses from a pocket inside his coat and put them on, placing his hands in the Ram seal afterwards.

“Rinnegan!” he whispered, his voice covered by the sound of the waterfall, and the world exploded into new color, the pupils in his eyes disappearing and the iris turning purple and thinning out into a single ring. Naruto’s Rinnegan eyes took in the cave system, wondering at how much latent chakra there was in the rock alone, not just the water. The whole system was saturated with chakra, and it was truly a beautiful sight.

He glanced at Sasuke, nodding at his teammate once he’d seen the blonde’s glasses. Sasuke, after much training, knew what this meant – that Naruto had activated his dōjutsu in order to scout ahead a little. While the Rinnegan couldn’t see through solid objects, its ability to see chakra pathways and chakra itself was an invaluable tool, as it could also reveal stealth jutsus and henges in use as well as any genjutsu. As such, whenever he used the eyes he usually took point, keeping an eye out while Sasuke conserved his own strength for his own dōjutsu, as he didn’t have Naruto’s massive chakra reserves.

When they’d returned from Wave Country and started working out at Training Ground One, he and Kakashi had gone through several one-on-one sessions in order to figure out as much as they could about the Rinnegan. They’d experimented on Naruto’s Deva Path, as the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kurama, had called it, and trained it a little. They’d discovered that there was a certain amount of time, around fifteen to twenty seconds, before Naruto could use one of the two techniques the Path granted him once he’d used one to begin with. They’d also discovered that when he activated the dōjutsu, the single ring in his eyes would start off purple, but slowly turn into his natural eye color (a kind of blue you simply didn’t see in Konoha) over time.

Another bit of experimentation revealed that whenever he used clones now with the Rinnegan active, he could share vision with them. This lead to rather confusing moments, as he still couldn’t manage having more than once point of view at a time. It was, however, a very powerful technique, as with four or five clones he could surround a battlefield and not have a single blind spot, even though at his current level Naruto could only manage having one clone. That was another thing – if he had any amount of clones active at a time and he activated his eyes, then he would immediately share vision with _all of them._ He’d passed out once from the sheer bombardment of information when he’d done that accidentally.

Bottom line, it was either his clones – the Shadow Clone Jutsu being one of his most powerful techniques – or his Rinnegan, never both. At least, not yet.

As for the rest of the five Paths that the Rinnegan granted to its user, Naruto and Kakashi were not able to determine how to activate them. Talking with Kurama hadn’t helped either, since the Fox was just as clueless as they were.

 ** _When my father used the eyes to create me and my brethren, he was very well into his years,_** Kurama had told him. **_From what he once told me, I believe he’d gained all of these Paths from birth. However, he never used them as Paths – the eyes granted him the power to bend the world however he wished, so in this endeavor, I cannot help you._**

 _To bend the world however he wished… complete mastery of the Rinnegan,_ Naruto had thought, shivering in fear, _What kind of curse have I inherited? Why me?_

Kurama didn’t know the answer to that either.

Naruto shook his head, coming back to the present and peering at the cave system through his sunglasses. Those had been a gift from his mother, and they worked similarly to the masks that ANBU used – a special seal was placed on the object that made them see-through from one side, but completely solid on the other. It was a convenient trinket, one that hid Naruto’s eyes from the world while enabling him their use.

“All clear,” he said. “No traps of any kind, and no resistance either. We’re alone.”

“How can you tell?” asked Shibuki. “Is it those glasses or something like that?”

Naruto shrugged. “Something like that,” he agreed, before letting the man take the lead and guide them in. Shibuki did so, leading the two genin to one of the many pools surrounding them.

“This way,” he said. “You have to follow my exact path, otherwise you’ll get lost and drown. Now come on!” With that, he dived into the pool.

Naruto glanced at his teammate, holding his hands in a Ram seal and deactivating his eyes, putting away his glasses when he was done. “If I drown,” he said to Sasuke, “make sure my tombstone said I died saving a princess or something.”

Sasuke scoffed before diving in after Shibuki, Naruto a second after him. Up ahead he could see Shibuki swimming through a narrow cave that was completely submerged in water, not a single air pocket in the whole tunnel. Sasuke was right behind him, so Naruto followed, grunting without releasing his breath at the exertion – the added weight of his gauntlets was not helping here at all. Thank goodness for the endurance training Kakashi was putting them through.

Meanwhile, outside of the cave system hidden by the waterfall, Sakura had just finished healing the unconscious woman in the shelter of the surrounding trees, the two children next to her. Wrapping up the gauze she’d used to bandage the woman, she knelt back, her warhammer on the ground at her side.

“There,” she said, “all done. She’ll be alright when she wakes up, but she’ll be really tired.”

“Mommy,” cried the little girl, placing her head on her mother’s belly and crying.

“Don’t cry, Shizuko,” said her brother, while Sakura realized that this was the first time she’d heard either one of the children’s names. “It’ll be alright! Lord Shibuki will take care of it, you’ll see!”

“I’d be very surpriseeeeee!” The ninja that had landed behind Sakura found himself with a high-pitched voice when the girl’s elbow snapped up and into his crotch. In a single movement, the pink-haired kunoichi stood up while punching upwards, hitting the man’s face and sending him flying. She put her boot under her the handle of her warhammer, tossing it up and into her waiting hands and swung, hitting the ninja in midair and sending him flying into a tree.

Sakura smirked. “Amateur,” she said. The back of her neck tingled, and she jerked to the side, dodging a kunai headed for her back. When she turned around, she raised the handle of her hammer and caught another kunai on it, the man holding it smirking at her through his mask. He, like the other ninja that’d attacked earlier, had a black hat-like Rain Country forehead protector, He wore a black skin tight suit underneath all of his clothing, which also covered his mouth and nose, along with a grey scarf around his neck, a white T-shirt over his black suit, a blue-colored strapped suit that acted as his pants and a shirt over his grey one.

“Nice job with that one,” he said, “but I’m afraid you’ll have no chance against me!”

“We’ll see about that!” retorted Sakura, wrenching the hammer to the side and trying to hit the man with the end of the hammer, but the man dodged. However, Sakura was ready to swing from the other direction and did so, the ninja having no choice but to cross his arms and absorb the blow that would have caved in his ribcage. Indeed, even with that he was sent flying like his compatriot, landing on his back on the hard ground.

Sakura stood over the unconscious woman, the two children at her back. “Is that all you got!?” she taunted, reaching into her supply pouch with her left hand and drawing a senbon needle dripped in poison. She threw it at the ninja, but he substituted with a fallen branch and Sakura cast her eyes around, looking for her target. “I expected more!” she yelled into the forest.

As if mocking her, five ninja blurred into existence around her. “Me and my big mouth,” she said. She took in the position of the men, seeing their drawn kunai and knowing that if it came down to it, she could probably take all of them out at the cost of the two children behind her losing their lives. That being said, if she surrendered, there was the risk of getting killed by these men, but she knew how they worked – rogue ninja were fans of taking hostages.

She had no choice then. Sighing, she let go of her warhammer and let it fall to the ground, raising her hands, palms open. “I surrender,” she said dejectedly. Soon after that, one of the ninja chopped the back of her neck and she fell to the ground, slowly falling unconscious.

“Take the four of them to the village, but make sure she’s secured,” said the man she’d fought, “I don’t want her escaping.”

“You got it, Kirisame…”

 _Ha,_ she thought, _nailed it… not dying today… I hope…_

Darkness took her.

As this happened, the heads of three ninja were emerging from the water surrounding a massive tree around which the Village Hidden by the Waterfall was built. Naruto’s head popped out of the water, breathing in and catching his breath as quietly as possible while he took in the sight. The massive tree was located inside a natural stone basin, which had cliffs hundreds of feet tall, and it was also surrounded by a ring of crystal-clear water. The village proper was built on both sides of the water, with what appeared like houses on one side and a marketplace on the other at the base of the tree. It was a beautiful village, Naruto thought, but there was one problem.

“Where is everybody?” muttered Naruto, glancing around furtively as he and Sasuke climbed out of the water.

“We’re being watched,” said Sasuke, a kunai in his hand.

Naruto glanced at the water they’d just emerged from and cursed softly – Shibuki was gone. “Fuckin’ coward,” he muttered. “And he calls himself a village leader.” He glanced upwards and cursed, “We’ve got company!”

“Go after him,” said Sasuke, “I’ll hold these guys off!”

“Be careful!” warned Naruto before throwing himself back into the water. Sasuke jumped straight up into the air, dodging the three ninja that landed exactly where he’d been standing. Three seals later, he blasted the three with a Great Fireball that they simply couldn’t dodge, screaming as they died. He twisted once in the air, landing perfectly with his eyes peeled for more enemies, but failed to expect a couple of water whips. The jutsu, held by the leader of the group he’d decimated outside of the waterfall and a woman in a pink tube top that had a dark red linen along with a open, light blue shirt, navy blue pants and ninja sandals, wrapped around the Uchiha in a tight grip, but fortunately he was able to still grasp his sword since the whips were still on his upper shoulders.

He pulled at the blade, twirling it with his right hand and slashing through one whip and then the other, freeing himself.

“Huh,” said the guy whose squad he’d decimated with the Demon Wing Shuriken, “The kid’s got some skill. I guess this won’t be so boring after all, Hisame!”

“Less talking, more fighting Murasame!” snapped the woman, now identified as Hisame, as she reformed her whip and snapped it at Sasuke. She was surprised, however, when the whip actually hit him only for the boy to dissolve into a puddle of water.

 _A water clone!?_ She thought, _but when did he-!?_ Hisame suddenly found herself flying through the air and landing in the water. Using chakra control, she didn’t fall in, but when she spied Sasuke’s smirk as he stood at the water’s edge, sword sheathed and hands flashing through seals, she knew she was doomed.

“ _Lightning Style!_ ” he cried, placing his palms in the water, _“Earth Flash!”_

Electricity spread from his arms and into the water, the current quickly reaching her and she screamed in pain, her body spasming uncontrollably as she lost control of her water-walking and fell in. Sasuke quickly moved away from the water, looking for her companion, but Murasame was already prepared. Using the body-flicker technique, he appeared behind Sasuke and kicked him, sending him barreling into the ground.

“ _Lightning Style: Earth Flash!”_ he cried, using the same jutsu and knocking the boy out before he could react. Murasame immediately moved to restrain Sasuke, checking to make sure that the Uchiha was truly knocked out instead of faking as he did so. Once that was done, the nukenin went picked Sasuke up and threw him over his shoulder, glancing at the water as Hisame unsteadily climbed out.

“Ouch,” he commented, “he really did a number on you.”

“Shut up,” she snapped, trying to hide the shakes in her hands. “Let’s get him to the village center with the rest of the hostages. Suien better be happy with this kid, did you see the crest on the back of his shirt?”

Murasame grinned viciously. “He’s an Uchiha,” he said. “The last in Konoha. He’ll fetch a nice ransom, I’ll bet.”

“Doubtful,” retorted his companion. “Konoha would hand over the money then kill us when we blink. He’ll be a good bargaining chip for now, but in the long run we’re better off not touching him.” Hisame glanced over at the tree overlooking Takigakure. “Besides, Suien knows how Shibuki thinks. The more hostages stacked in our favor, the better. If we threaten Konoha’s last Uchiha, Shibuki’ll crack out of fear of Konoha’s retribution, you’ll see. ”

“They did call you the best strategist in Amegakure,” said Murasame. “I’ll defer to your judgment – we have the demon in our hands as well, so things should go to plan.” Murasame readjusted the unconscious genin on his shoulder and turned to leave. “Let’s go,” he said, “If your plan and Suien’s info is correct, Shibuki should be securing the Hero’s Water now. It’s time to negotiate.” A moment later the man vanished in a Shunshin, Hisame following.

And the sun set in the Village Hidden by the Waterfall.

**…ooOoo…**


	9. A Hero rises, A Path Revealed, A Family Falls

Arc II – The Hero's Water, Seven Tails in the Land of Waterfalls!

**...ooOoo...**

_One week after Team Seven’s return from Wave Country_

“I never said we’d have to be friends.”

 **Perhaps not outright,** retorted the Nine Tailed Fox. **But you most certainly implied it.**

Naruto rolled his eyes. “Well it would make sense, wouldn’t it?” Naruto raised his arms exasperated-like and let them fall again. “We’re stuck with each other, so I figure that we might as well take advantage of it, right?”

**You would have the most to gain in this little deal.**

Naruto opened his mouth to deny that, only to stop for a moment. “…shit, you’re right,” he said. “Your power, tutelage on the Rinnegan…” Naruto shook his head before peering up at the massive fox standing above him. “Well, is there anything you want?”

**Freedom. Freedom from this seal, from being controlled.**

Naruto sighed. “Kurama, we both know that that can’t happen-”

 **-because you would die, yes,** the Nine-Tails scoffed, and Naruto could see him roll his eyes. **Oh yes, because _that_ would be such a shame…**

“Hey, I resent that!”

 **Be it as it may, I surprisingly am not amenable to such an event occurring,** said Kurama, ignoring Naruto’s outburst. **Tell me boy, do you know why I am known as a Harbinger of Destruction?**

Naruto frowned. “Because of your destructive power,” he answered. “Because wherever you appeared, you… you’d just destroy everything. An age-old disaster, that’s what one book called you…”

 **All of those times were never without reason,** said Kurama. **My father, the Sage of Six Paths, he had a goal in mind, a goal of peace and prosperity, and he entrusted us, his children, the remnants of the God-Tree, to ensure that his dream would be accomplished and kept alive.** Kurama paused. **Whenever I attacked, apparently mindlessly, it was always with purpose, since I attacked areas that have been breeding grounds for the darkest aspects of human nature.**

“Places that stopped your father’s dream from becoming reality!” realized Naruto.

**Indeed. It was because of those displays of power, foolish that they were, that caused ninja to begin to actively hunt for me. The first were those two brothers, I never learned their names, and after them… it was that accursed Uchiha.**

“Madara,” said Naruto. “Sasuke told me this story… he said that Madara Uchiha used your power when he fought against the first Hokage, but he still lost.”

 **He had me under his complete control,** said Kurama, his clawed fists tightening in rage at the memory. **In a way, I am glad that he failed in his goal of destroying the first Hokage, Hashirama Senju, but for more than one reason. Hashirama is, was, descended from the youngest son of the Sage of Six Paths, the heir of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, my father. On the other hand, the Uchiha, and by proxy Madara, were descended from the firstborn son of my father. Theirs has been a long and bloody feud that has carried over in the past millennia, spilling blood, pain and death over the annals of history, and all because of the resentment that was caused in choosing of my father’s heir. I was there when that feud was started,** Kurama looked down at Naruto, **and I will most certainly be there when it ends.**

Naruto slowly nodded. “Sasuke and Itachi are the last of the Uchiha clan,” he said, frowning at the water that covered the floor of his mindscape. “As for the Senju… Tsunade of the Sannin is the last I think. I’d have to ask Kakashi-Sensei and Sasuke about that.” He looked back up at the Nine-Tails. “Is that what you want? To see the end of their feud?” he asked.

 **In a way,** said Kurama. **I loved my father. Yes, I know how that sounds – I, the living embodiment of humanity’s hatred, can feel love. How can I not, when hatred and love are easily exchanged for the other? To me, family means everything. When the end comes, the only thing we have left in the face of death are the deeds we’ve done in the name of our family, both past and future. My father created me and my brothers and sisters with his power; he gave me life, and a reason to live. Ending the feud between the descendants of Indra and Asura Ōtsutsuki will be the catalyst to the completion of my father’s dream.** Kurama bowed his head. **And _that_ is what I want. **

“That’s a tall order, Kurama,” said Naruto, rubbing the back of his head. “And it’s going to take years of work, since I’d have to get into a position where I could influence both remnants of the clans to work together like that… alright, I’ll do it.”

Kurama scoffed. **You know nothing of the enormity of this task, boy.**

“Maybe you’re right,” agreed Naruto, before he grinned at the fox. “But it won’t be because I didn’t try. I never go back on my word, and I promise, the dream of the Sage of Six Paths _will_ be a reality! On my word as the future Hokage, I’ll make sure of it, believe it!”

For a few moments, there was silence in the mindscape as Kurama looked into Naruto’s eyes. **Hmph,** Kurama broke the silence. **I still stand by what I said when we first met. I want to hate you.**

“Oh, give me a break, will ya?”

**…ooOoo…**

_Present day_

Day in and day out, Naruto had kept his promise in mind. Even so, he knew that Kurama’s dream was something that he would spend years working on, just as he’d told the Nine Tailed Fox. That being said, he didn’t let that deter him throughout his training, instead taking it as a challenge and using it as motivation to get stronger. He’d helped his friends too, subtly pushing Sasuke and Sakura to improve themselves by leading by example. It was something that he enjoyed after all, since training together had been something they’d practiced since they were in the academy. That being said, he liked training and improving himself.

If there was one thing that Naruto _didn’t_ like, however, it was watching the friends in question get hurt.

After separating from Sasuke in search of Shibuki, he’d been skulking around Takigakure in order to understand how things stood at the moment. During this, he’d discovered that the massive tree overlooking the Village Hidden by the Waterfall was actually hollow, with passages running through the whole tree and entrances and exits everywhere. As such, he’d decided that in order to keep an eye on things, his favorite technique would come in handy. Even now there was a huge amount of clones running through the tree, all eyes on the village while the original searched for Shibuki.

It was the kind of job he hated the most since it felt like he wasn’t doing anything productive. He saw Sasuke get defeated and he grit his teeth when Sakura was brought in along with the two children they’d helped outside of the village, but he didn’t change his plans, not one bit. This “Hero’s Water,” whatever it was, was valuable enough that the leader of these nukenin was taking hostages and was actually taking his time in order to figure out where the Water was. He’d blitzed through the village’s Shinobi force, his men not having killed many but incapacitating most through sheer speed and surprise. And yet, the Takigakure ninja still didn’t give up, as in the past ten minutes alone there’d been no less than five escape attempts.

These Taki ninja were resilient, no doubt, which made Naruto wonder at how they could have been taken out so quickly and easily. Sheer numbers definitely had something to do with it, as the amount of rogue ninja guarding the Village was rather staggering. The hostages also had a factor in this as well, Naruto reasoned, but it was a little confusing to him as he couldn’t see any villagers in the area.

 _Maybe they’re inside the houses?_ wondered Naruto. It would make sense, but how were they keeping an eye on them? Naruto shook his head, his eyes on the village square where the ninja were being kept, their arms chained and their weapons taken. Even Sasuke and Sakura were being kept away from the other Taki ninja, probably to make sure that there wasn’t any kind of communication between the two groups. For the sake of everything holy, they’d hung Sasuke from and arch and tied his arms together in such a way that if he used any kind of escape jutsu he’d lose them in the process!

Sakura, however, was being kept in a net, her hands free but her tools taken away from her. Next to her in another net was another girl, a young, petite, green-haired kunoichi dressed in a white battle-dress. She was clearly a genin, about Naruto’s age, it looked like. He couldn’t see much from his position in one of the upper branches of the great tree, but she seemed to be glancing around worriedly while talking to Sakura in low tones. Naruto’s teammate was doing the same, only her glances were towards Sasuke more often than not.

Naruto glanced at some of the patrolling nukenin and decided it was time to change vantage points lest he get spotted. Indeed, there was little risk that something like that would happen – spending his youth running away from ANBU and jōnin after performing his pranks made him very practiced in the art of not being seen – but while all ninja had a healthy respect for Lady Luck, Anko had drilled into her son’s head that no ninja _alive_ relied too much on luck. Those who did… well, there _was_ on emphasis on ‘alive.’

Applying chakra to his palms and feet, Naruto began to scale the outside of the tree, heading towards the upper branches, the outer bark extremely smooth and with little handholds. While there were tunnels running though the inside of the tree, the place he hadn’t checked for Shibuki yet was seemingly unreachable from the inside. He wasn’t worried that he would be seen, as he’d switched out his beige coat for a black one (he always carried spare coats in a Sealing Scroll, they always seemed to suffer the most in training and during missions), but every so often Naruto checked over his shoulder that he hadn’t been seen-

“ _Psst!”_

“Shit!”

Startled, Naruto lost his control over his chakra flow, and his hands slipped from the tree’s surface and he began to fall. He was about to forgo stealth and summon clones in midair in order to not fall to his death, but a hand suddenly snapped out and caught his arm before he could fall.

Naruto looked up at his savior and saw that it was Shibuki himself. Naruto glanced back down, checking that he hadn’t caught the attention of any of the nukenin with his almost-fall before letting himself get pulled up by Shibuki into a small natural cave-like formation in the tree, the man looking concerned and slightly afraid.

“Are you alright?” asked Shibuki once he’d been pulled inside.

“I’m fine,” said Naruto, brushing himself off. “Thanks for the save, Shibuki.”

The man gave him a nervous smile. “It’s no problem,” he said, before frowning. “But exactly are you doing here?”

Naruto looked at the man with an incredulous expression. “Are you kidding me?” he asked, keeping his voice low, “I’m looking for you, obviously- wait, what the-?”

The last part was directed at a shadow standing behind Shibuki, who turned at Naruto’s exclamation. “Relax,” said Shibuki, “she’s with me. Naruto, meet my student, Fu.”

Naruto blinked at the young girl, glancing out of the hole, looking down at the village and returning his gaze back to her. “Huh,” was all he said.

The green-haired kunoichi whom he’d spotted having been tied up next to Sakura smiled at him, amber-colored, no, _orange_ -colored eyes shining brightly. “Hi!” she said brightly, holding out her hand. “Pleased to meet you! I’m Fu, and I hope we can be friends!”

Naruto blinked again. For some reason, he just couldn’t find himself to speak as he stared at the girl. She wore a clip in her hair that was the same color as her eyes, holding back her mint-green hair that reached to her shoulders. Just like her clone in the village, she was wearing a white battle-dress, but Naruto could see that she was wearing fishnet armor underneath the dress, with a red-colored sash tied around her waist, a weapons pouch hanging from the sash, and a Takigakure Hitae-Ate on her forehead.

There was… something _else_ as well about her, something that Naruto couldn’t place his finger on, but at the moment, there was only one thought going through his head.

_Pretty…_

“I-I uh…” stuttered Naruto, clearing his throat before taking the girl’s, _Fu’s_ hand and shaking it. It was warm, he noted as he returned her grin. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m Naruto Uzumaki, genin of the Leaf Village,” he said, before adding, “And uh, I’d be happy to be your friend! Believe it!”

_Smooth, Uzumaki. Smooth._

Fu’s smile brightened as she let go of his hand before clapping both of her own. “Yay!” she said. “That’s good! See, Shibuki-Sensei, I told you they looked like nice people!”

Naruto started, having forgotten that the man had been standing there. The man was smiling fondly at his student as he answered, “Yes, yes, you’re right again, Fu.” The man shook his head, losing his smile as he glanced outside. “But I’m afraid we have bigger problems to deal with right now.”

Naruto followed the man, peering down at the village. “It’s nighttime,” he said. “That… could be a problem. Kakashi-Sensei would know that something’s wrong by now, we should’ve been back in Konoha already.” He frowned. “Hopefully he’ll head over here soon, and with backup, but just in case we should send a messenger bird-”

“They killed them all,” said Fu with a sad look on her face, drawing Naruto’s attention from the village below. “It was the first thing I thought about checking, but I guess they’d already taken care of them before.”

Naruto cursed. “Alright,” he said, “so we’ve got no backup and it’s just us three.”

“Two,” corrected Shibuki.

“What?”

“Umm,” said Fu, holding her hand up, “I don’t count. I’m a clone.”

Naruto’s eye twitched. “What?” he repeated.

“I got captured at the beginning of the attack by their leader, Suien. I made this clone in order to receive any orders from Shibuki if he found.”

Naruto sighed; he’d been hoping that the clone was the one that was tied up next to Sasuke and Sakura, not the other way around. “Alright,” he said, “how much chakra do you have left to sustain yourself?”

Fu, or rather her clone, scrunched her face up in thought. “Umm, I’m not sure,” she said. “I have a lot of chakra.”

Naruto glanced at Shibuki. “Shibuki,” he said, “we don’t have much to go on, but I’m guessing that it should be enough, right?” he asked. “But before we do anything, I gotta know – what do these guys want with taking an entire Hidden Village hostage?”

Shibuki winced, his expression not concealing any of the nervousness he was currently feeling. “I can’t tell you-”

“What’s the Hero’s Water?”

Suddenly, there was a kunai knife at Naruto’s throat, whose eyes widened in surprise. “Lord Shibuki, should I-?”

“No!” Shibuki’s expression was panicked, his hands outstretched towards the two. “Fu, let him go! Naruto, put that knife away!”

Behind him, Naruto could feel Fu look down and blanch at the sight of a knife pointed at her belly. “Oh,” she said.

“Yeah, I’m not the best person to sneak up on,” said Naruto.

“Well… truce?” said Fu.

“Truce,” agreed Naruto. They removed their knives off of each other’s person and moved away.

Shibuki sighed. “Look,” he said, “I don’t know about you two, but if we’re fighting and distrusting each other I don’t think we’re going to get out of this alive!”

Naruto sighed. “You’re right,” he said, “but I need to know what these guys are after, Shibuki. How else am I supposed to help?”

“ _Hey Shibuki!_ ”

The man jumped at the loud voice echoing through the hollow. Naruto ejected one of his blades and approached the edge, Fu’s clone mimicking his position next to him. Down in the village square, standing amongst the captured Taki ninja, was a man with long spiky hair, small dark eyes, and a goatee, wearing a dark blue jacket, grey pants, sandals, and a bandanna that held his hair out of his face.

“Suien…” said Fu. Naruto glanced at her.

“So that’s his name, huh?” he said.

The clone nodded. “He used to be a shinobi of this village,” she said, “but he betrayed us. He’s a rogue ninja now.”

 _“Shibuki!”_ yelled Suien, _“I know you can hear me, wherever you’re hiding! Now then, don’t be shy! Come on out right now and bring the Hero’s Water with you!”_

“Hero’s water,” muttered Naruto. He looked over at a trembling Shibuki, his eyes landing on the small glass bottle he was holding, filled with crystal-clear water.

_“Don’t make this village suffer any more because of you!”_

“That bottle,” said Naruto, “is that the Hero’s Water these guys want?”

“Y-yes,” said Shibuki, “and protecting it is the most sacred duty of the village leader. This water is drawn from the trunk of the sacred tree only once every one hundred years, and whoever drinks it will have his chakra increased tenfold, maybe even more!”

Naruto looked at the little bottle in awe. “Are you serious?” he asked. _That’s almost like bijuu chakra!_ He thought.

 **No,** said Kurama, surprising Naruto, **my chakra is _much_ stronger than that artifact.**

“There are no shinobi in this village who are strong as your Hokage,” said Shibuki, unaware of Naruto’s inner conversation. “So in times of trouble, we’ve had to rely on the Hero’s Water in order to defend ourselves. In the last Great War, the Water was the only thing that saved us from destruction.”

Shibuki shuddered, hugging the bottle to his chest. “But the Hero’s Water exacts a terrible price,” he said. “Whoever drinks it has their live shortened by the same degree that their chakra was augmented. That being said, many of our shinobi died, not in battle, but because of the water’s effects, so we keep it hidden, away from people’s hands. It is Takigakure’s greatest secret.”

“So how does Suien know about it?” asked Naruto. “If it’s such a secret…?”

“A few years ago, we were attacked by a group of powerful shinobi,” said Shibuki. “My father at the time was the Village Leader, and as such he did what he felt was necessary in order to defend us – he drank from the Water. Suien was there, and he saw the effects, how my father became much more powerful from the chakra increase.

“My father didn’t survive, however. He was too old, and he died soon afterwards.” Shibuki scowled angrily. “My father was a fool. He was doing his duty as the Village Leader when he drank the water, but he died because of it!”

Naruto’s expression didn’t change, but inside he was feeling both humbled by Shibuki’s father’s sacrifice and angered by Shibuki’s words. _Your father wasn’t a fool,_ he thought. _Dying to protect something greater than you isn’t what a fool does. Belittling his sacrifice, though…_ that’s _what a fool does. A fool, and a coward._

 _“Shibuki!”_ Naruto heard Suien yell again, _“you wouldn’t be so foolish to pour the water out, now would you? No, of course not, how else would this weak village defend itself without the water?”_

Shibuki’s body was shaking in fear. “I know I’m the Leader of the Village, and that I’m supposed to protect the water at all costs!” he said. “I can’t let them take it! I’ll have betrayed my people’s trust and doomed my village!”

 _And your father’s sacrifice would be in vain,_ thought Naruto, completely unimpressed by Shibuki’s attitude. This wasn’t like with Tazuna – his circumstances were just as bad, but Tazuna’s village had no way of defending itself from ninjas, ronin, or thugs. Shibuki, on the other hand, was a _shinobi._ He was trained to _kill_ , and he had a duty to _defend his village at all costs._

Naruto couldn’t spare any emotion for the man, not anymore. His mother had made sure of that when his team had returned from the Land of Waves.

 _“Time’s running out!”_ yelled Suien. _“There’s a limit as to how long you can just sit out there and hide away, so hand over the Hero’s Water now! Or I’ll start killing your villagers and shinobi, one by one, very slowly, and very painfully!”_

 _“Don’t do it Lord Shibuki!”_ yelled a childish voice. _“Don’t come out!”_

 _“You can’t let them have the Hero’s Water no matter what happens!”_ yelled a second voice, younger than the first.

 _The two kids we helped outside the village,_ thought Naruto, looking back down at the village square, only to wince when one of the nukenin used a Water Whip to silence the children.

“That son of a bitch!” growled Naruto when the whip fell once, twice, and thrice more. He looked at Shibuki with a glare. “Aren’t you going to do something!?”

“Leave me alone!” snapped Shibuki, his eyes tearing up. The man was staring at a small photograph in his hand, the other holding the Hero’s Water.

Naruto couldn’t stand it anymore. “Holy shit, you’re useless!” he snapped. Uncaring of how Shibuki and Fu were looking at him, he returned his gaze to the village square. “Those kids told me you were strong. You may not believe in yourself, and with good reason, but those kids? They believe in you, they talk about you like you’re a hero-!”

“Because they’re kids that think the village leader has to be a hero!” Shibuki’s expression revealed his terror. “I’m not my father! I only inherited his title!”

In that moment, Naruto saw something that almost made him recoil in disgust. This man, this village leader, the foreign equivalent of Naruto’s dream, was acting no better than someone who was afraid to step up to the responsibility they’d been given. Shibuki was acting in the exact antithesis of a Shinobi – for Shinobi, above all, must _endure_ all. Shibuki had been broken, and was too afraid to pick up the pieces – worse still, he would break the pieces even further until there was nothing left to fix.

In that moment, Naruto felt all his disgust fade, to be replaced by pity and resolve. Pity for Shibuki, who’d probably never recover, and for his village, for under this man’s leadership they would crumble. Resolve, because he promised himself that he would _never_ allow himself even _a single moment_ of weakness, if _this_ was the result.

He would be unbreakable. He would be the pillar upon others could lean on. And if that’s what it took to be Hokage, he’d do it with a smile on his face.

So, Naruto simply straightened himself, mimicking the expression that Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, would use whenever he had to make a show of power, an expression of judgment mixed with disappointment, and _looked_ at Shibuki.

“There are people who have destiny and power thrown at them, whether they like it or not,” he said, repeating the same words he’d heard his grandfather-figure say to him a few days after he’d found out about Kurama. “What differentiates a man or woman from being a child is whether or not they embrace that destiny and make the best of it, or hide away from it like a child fearing the dark.

“You’re nothing more than a coward,” he said, “and I’m not sorry for you, but for your village. You’re letting them down Shibuki – the least you could do is die honorably so that a better leader is picked.”

Ignoring Fu’s gasp as he turned to look at her, he spoke. “Will you receive the memories of everything once you dispel?” he asked. When she nodded, he continued, “Then tell Sakura to get ready. I’m coming in, hard and fast. Tell her, Magic Bull tactics. She’ll understand.”

Fu nodded. “I, uh- when?”

“ASAP,” he said, glancing at the square, “We’re going to have to find a way to distract Suien as much as we can – it looks like he’s getting ready to execute hostages, starting with the children.” Indeed, Suien had grabbed one of the kids tied up with Sakura and was holding a knife at the girl’s throat. “I’ll try and get the both you and my team free, but the priority right now are the hostages-”

“What do you think you’re doing!?” exclaimed Shibuki.

Naruto looked at him. “Doing your job,” he said. “Look, I don’t know what happened between you two, but it sounds to me like your father was a hero.”

“Who are you to say that!?” yelled Shibuki. “You know nothing about my father!”

 _Right, keep on yelling, make sure that everyone knows we’re here,_ thought Naruto. He looked back at the village square. “I know that to put everything on the line, even your life, to protect your village and the people you love, is probably the greatest thing a man can do,” said Naruto. Idly, his hands went up to his forehead protector, adjusting it and tightening it. “As a matter of fact, that’s something that no ordinary man does.

“It’s what a Hero does.” Naruto gave Shibuki once last glance, accompanied with a parting comment. “And your dad was my kind of guy – he was a _damn_ good hero.”

Ignoring Shibuki’s gasp, he looked at Fu. “Come on,” he said, “let’s go save your village.”

“R-right,” said Fu, but Naruto had already jumped out of the hollow onto a lower branch, Fu’s clone following after a glance at Shibuki.

**…ooOoo…**

A magician’s act is composed by different parts, or elements. On this night, however, the focus lied on three elements – the distraction, the magic, and the prestige. Each part plays an important role in a magic trick, but that role was outclassed by the one they played in Shinobi combat – in _true_ shinobi combat.

In a joint session with Kakashi and Anko, Team Seven had learned that with the development of highly-destructive chakra-based techniques, shinobi combat had started to lean more and more towards Samurai-type combat, where two enemies charged at each other and fought face-to-face. Modern shinobi combat, Kakashi explained, would follow the same script, with a little deception thrown in, in order to get the upper hand.

But as Anko said, True Shinobi combat was a _lot_ more dangerous. This was because it played on a shinobi’s greatest enemy – complacence. And ninja had become complacent – they’d become so used to face-to-face type of combat that whenever someone snuck up on them and slit their throats, they never saw it coming.

Team Seven learned.

And on this night, Suien’s group of nukenin would experience.

It had been less than five minutes since Naruto and Fu had separated from Shibuki. Night had truly fallen, and with that blessing, preparations were made in order for the Magic Bull trick to work. Suien wouldn’t see anything coming – or at least, that was the plan. The man himself was still in the same place, holding the little girl – Shizuko, Naruto had learnt from Fu’s clone – with a knife at her throat.

“You have five seconds left!” yelled Suien, unaware of someone else using his countdown as well. “If you don’t show up, Shibuki, I kill her! And then I kill another! And another!

“Three seconds!” Suien looked up at the dark tree with a bloodthirsty grin.

“Two!” He raised the knife, Shizuko squirming, trying her best to get away.

“One!” The blade fell, and Shizuko screamed-

_Pop!_

The blade stopped a few inches away from the little girl’s throat. “Huh?” said Suien, looking up at the bright flare that had been fired from the tree, the loud explosion catching everyone’s attention and the bright light keeping it.

The distraction.

At the same time that the flare had gone off, Suien’s nukenin guarding the villagers locked in the buildings died, their throats cut or their chests pierced by blades as soon as their attention had wavered. Half a dozen clones, one for each nukenin guarding the hostages, immediately moved towards the villagers, calming them down, keeping them quiet, and explaining the situation.

Exactly while this happened, a mint-haired girl tied next to Sakura Haruno found her bindings released by a thrown kunai. Immediately, she glanced at Sakura, to whom she’d already communicated Naruto’s message as soon as her clone had dispelled (Sakura in turn had transmitted it to Sasuke), and nodded, the captured members of Team Seven closing their eyes as Fu went through three hand seals, ending on the Tiger seal.

 _“Secret Art – Hiding Scale Powder Jutsu!”_ Fu’s hands switched from the Tiger Seal to a clap before breathing out a large quantity of fine powder from her mouth, forming a small cloud in front of her. The powder was so fine that it reflected the flare’s light brightly, producing a flash of light that blinded anyone who’d been caught with their eyes open.

Suien yelled in pain when his eyes caught the full brunt of Fu’s jutsu. Less than a second later, he also felt Shizuko being pulled out of his hands, and without thinking he stabbed with his knife. There was a yell of pain, but the voice wasn’t female, nor that of a child’s. Suien felt himself punched, and was thrown away by the hit.

Naruto grimaced at the wound in his arm, but that being said, the little cut was _much_ more preferable on him than on little Shizuko. He immediately handed her over to another clone, who took her to safety. A glance at his side revealed Fu releasing the Taki ninja while Sakura was working on Sasuke, making him grin at the sight.

The magic. And it all happened in a period of less than twenty seconds.

Unfortunately, the moment that Naruto had taken to take stock of everything happening was also used by Hisame, who took advantage of the Uzumaki making himself a sitting duck and attacked, her water whip catching him by the chest and throwing him away.

“Oof!” The air in his chest was forcefully expelled when he landed on the tough ground. This was only made worse when he felt three more weights land on top of him. He recognized the voices of the people on top of him though, and realized that his plan _hadn’t_ gone as flawlessly as he’d thought.

He groaned, the sound mirrored by Sasuke, Sakura, and Fu. “That went well,” he muttered.

“Best plan ever,” said Fu, her voice slightly sarcastic.

“Shut up,” said Naruto.

“Actually, it _was_ a good plan,” said Sakura, “it’s just the bull went down to fast…”

“Hm.” That was Sasuke.

The Magic Bull trick. A distraction and a magic trick, coupled with a bull that wouldn’t stop fighting until every enemy was down or the bull was taken out. The flare was the distraction, the magic was the release of the hostages and Team Seven, and bull was all the released ninja, Team Seven and Fu included. Their only hope now was in the Taki ninja Fu had released-

“I couldn’t let anyone go,” moaned Fu. “No friends to be made there anymore…”

Well. Shit.

“Guys, get off of me, will ya?” said Naruto, “You’re not exactly light…”

Immediately, he felt the weight disappear, but when he was roughly pulled up and had a knife at his throat he realized that it wasn’t because his friends had developed a sense of mercy.

“Well, well, well,” said Suien, his gaze going from captured genin to captured genin. “I have to say, I’m rather impressed. You four give credit to that old saying, ‘With but a moment of surprise, a Genin can kill a Kage.’ Unfortunately for you, you failed.”

“Oh, save us the speeches, Suien!” yelled Fu, her eyes narrowed as she struggled in Murasame’s grip. “Do yourself a favor and leave!”

“Why should I?” said Suien. “I have all the power! Your little gamble failed, and now the last bits of resistance in this pitiful village have been eliminated!” The man moved over to her, leaning down in her face. “Face it _little bug_ ,” Fu flinched as if she’d been slapped, “you’ve lost, and Shibuki has abandoned you. Now all that’s left is to spill your blood, one by one, until the rivers run red. Well, maybe not you, bug – your head’ll fetch a nice price. I hear there’s some people looking out for you-!”

“Get away from her!” yelled Naruto. For some reason, Suien’s words were making him both angry and afraid, as if they meant more than they seemed. “You bastard, when I get my hands on you- oof!”

“Naruto!” yelled Sakura, her arms held back by Kirisame. Next to her, Sasuke grit his teeth as he too tried to release himself but was unable to break the restraints Kirisame had placed on him.

Naruto coughed, Suien’s fist still pressing into his gut. “You call that a hit?” said Naruto, spitting in Suien’s face. “My mother hits harder than you!”

The scary part was that he wasn’t lying – Anko _really_ did hit a _lot_ harder than this guy.

“Hmph. I’d love to carve you and your friends to pieces,” said Suien, “but I’m no fool, I’m not going to risk Konoha’s wrath. Though your blood spilled here in an allied village _would_ put this place in a nice situation… for us.”

“It’s not worth it, Suien,” said Hisame, absently tightening the water whip holding Naruto hostage. The knife in her hand glinted against Naruto’s neck. “You know that.”

“True,” he said. “Very well. Let’s start this up again. Since you ‘rescued’ that little girl, I guess I’m going to have to move on to the next hostage-”

“You aren’t touching anyone else!”

Suien whirled in surprise as a massive whirlpool of water rose from the lake surrounding the Great Tree of Takigakure. The water, taking the form of a compact drill twice the size of a man rushed forwards the missing nin, who all simultaneously cursed and released their hostages, leaping away from the jutsu and towards their leader. The jutsu’s job done, it was released, dissipating and revealing its wielder.

“Let the villagers go, you coward!” said Shibuki, his body glowing with a blue-colored chakra shroud that twisted and warped in its intensity. “You’ve been waiting for me, right? Well here I am!” Shibuki almost snarled at Suien, who was staring at him apathetically.

Naruto was surprised – the man looked nothing like he’d last seen him less than twenty minutes prior. Not that this was stopping him from realizing what was important; the Uzumaki had taken advantage of his newfound freedom and was moving over to his teammates. Sakura had already released Sasuke’s bonds, the girl’s own having been destroyed by Fu, who was staring at her teacher incredulously after returning the pinkette’s weapon to its master.

“Lord Shibuki?” she half-whispered.

“Hehehe,” chuckled Naruto, “better late than never.”

“His chakra must be incredibly strong,” said Sakura, “you can actually see it pouring out of him!”

“Well, well,” said Suien, “Long time, Shibuki.”

“You haven’t changed a bit,” answered Shibuki.

“Impressive chakra. I take it you drank from the Hero’s Water?”

“Yes, I did.”

“But, not all of it, did you? I wonder, where’s the rest of it?”

“It’s too late for it to do you any good,” said Shibuki. “I’m going to defeat you right here and now!”

“Haha! Quite the little hero! You’re aware of what happens to someone of your… _limited ability_ when they drink from the Hero’s Water?” Suien smirked confidently. “You of all people should know that. It will do you little good in any case you fool! You are so far out of your league; even if you multiply your chakra by ten times, or twenty, it’s _still_ no match for what I already possess!”

Shibuki didn’t answer immediately, his eyes flickering from side to side, taking in the situation. “We’ll see about that,” he said. He held out his right hand. “ _Hidden Waterfall Style: Water Slicing Blade!”_ With a _shling_ sound, a sword made out of water materialized in Shibuki’s stretched hand, the deadly blade betraying none of its true power with its rugged appearance. “Naruto, Fu, Sasuke, Sakura,” he said, “I need you to take care of the other ninja. Do not let them interfere in this!”

“You got it, Shibuki!” yelled Naruto, his arms poised to eject his blades at a moments’ notice. “Give him hell!”

Suien held out his own hand, and without any prompting a Water Slicing Blade appeared in it as well. Next to him, Suien’s chief commanders were joined by the rest of the nukenin, still numbering in the double digits even after Naruto’s massive killing spree. Suien charged at Shibuki, and the two began to battle while the four genin stared down at more than twenty nukenin.

“So,” Hisame said, her knife spinning in her hand, “how long do you think these kids will last?”

“They won’t,” said the masked Kirisame.

“They’ve surprised us once already,” said Murasame, his grey hair glinting slightly in the little light. “Let’s not give them another chance.”

“Game plan?” asked Naruto, quietly enough that their enemies wouldn’t hear them.

“Herd them together, BFF follow-up,” said Sasuke. “Clones should do the trick.” He looked at Fu, “Do you have any area of effect Jutsu?”

“One,” she said, “but it takes time to set up.”

“How much?”

“Three seconds, give or take.”

“You’ll get your time, just make sure you’re out of the blast range when you’re done,” said Sasuke. “Alright team, go!”

Both Naruto and Sakura formed the seals for their respective clone jutsus, with Naruto shouting, “ _Shadow Clone Jutsu!_ ” and Sakura stating, “ _Earth Style: Rock Clone Jutsu!_ ” While ten clones of Naruto blurred into existence on the group’s left, to the right three clones of Sakura formed out of the earth, pulling themselves together and becoming perfect copies of the kunoichi. The clones then drew their hammers, leaning forwards in anticipation.

Hisame stepped forwards. “Oh no you don’t! _Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!_ ” Her hands held in the Rat seal, she spat out a torrent of water, but fortunately for Team 7 and Fu, Sakura had anticipated an attack.

 _“Earth Style: Earth Wall!_ ” In front of the team, a waist-high wall of earth grew, revealing Sakura’s inexperience with the jutsu as it was supposed to cover them completely. Still, it was better than no cover, so the genin minus Fu, who jumped upwards and above the water technique, dove behind it just as the water passed harmlessly over them. Both Naruto and Sakura’s clones moved around the sides of the wall and attacked the flanks. A second after, the water technique stopped.

“Sasuke, now!” said Naruto, going through the seals for a Gale Palm.

A shout from above caught the blonde’s attention, and he saw Fu falling towards the right flank of the missing nin, Sakura’s clones having been eliminated after dealing a good amount of damage (that hammer _really_ hurt). The Takigakure genin had her fist outstretched towards the ground as she fell in a spin, and Naruto heard the words, _“Secret Art: Hidden Waterfall Hurricane!”_ being shouted before she impacted the ground, causing a small explosion that drew the nukenin back towards the center. This, combined with the last of Naruto’s clones kicking one of the missing nin back, placed almost the entire group in a small cluster – right in the sights of Naruto and Sasuke’s BFF.

The _Big Fucking Fireball_ consumed the nukenin immediately, the technique morbidly brightening up the night. Those that survived the technique were beset upon by the Taki ninja, who’d somehow been (finally! They took their sweet time) freed from their restraints. Outnumbered as they were, the ninja from the Hidden Waterfall Village still fought with better skill than the nukenin, so the fight that ensued was evenly matched.

“I told you we shouldn’t have given them quarter!”

The genin’s gazes were drawn towards Hisame and Murasame, the latter looking at them with a hateful glare.

“Kirisame was taken out,” said Sakura, glancing at her friends as Fu rejoined them, “I saw him die in the BFF.”

“Then that just leaves these two,” said Sasuke. He glanced over at where Shibuki and Suien were fighting, jutsu being thrown left and right as Shibuki was barely managing to keep up with Suien.

“We need to back Shibuki up,” said Naruto. “Sakura, Sasuke, you take care of these two. Fu and I will help Shibuki.” He knew that Sasuke and Sakura could take care of the nukenin, and Fu had been taught by Suien’s student, so she would know more about his fighting style than anyone else. Coupled with himself, he didn’t see how things could go wrong.

“Got it,” said Sasuke, the Uchiha drawing his sword and the Haruno hefting her Warhammer. “Don’t take too long, we won’t have much time for sleep tonight.”

“Training’s going to be horrible tomorrow,” lamented Sakura.

Funny how they were talking as though the whole situation would be cleared up that very night. In all possibilities, it probably would be.

Naruto looked at Fu as his teammates charged the last of Suien’s commanders. “Let’s go,” he said, turning towards Shibuki’s battle-

-only to watch as Suien pierced Shibuki’s chest with his sword.

 _“Shibuki!”_ screamed Fu as the man fell to the ground on his back, a small amount of blood pooling around him.

“Fu, let’s go! Suien can’t have the Hero’s Water!” yelled Naruto, and they ran towards the two. As they watched, Suien reached into Shibuki’s jacket and drew a familiar looking bottle. Laughing, Suien uncorked it, threw his head back, and drank.

And drank.

And drank.

Naruto didn’t know how much Suien had consumed of the stuff, but the results were obvious – a chakra shroud, twice as large as Shibuki’s had been, formed around the man, and when he stepped on Shibuki’s chest, the Village Leader was pressed into the earth, the man pushing weakly against Suien’s foot.

Suien laughed cruelly again. “Oh, I’m sorry, I guess I don’t know my own strength!” laughed Suien. “Did I just hear a rib crack? You should feel honored, Shibuki! You’ll be the first demonstration of just how strong your old teacher is-!”

_“Chakra Push!”_

With that single word, Suien was thrown away from Shibuki as a massive wave of power impacted him, the nukenin landing a few meters away from the downed Village Leader. Fu quickly moved towards her teacher, picking him up and carrying him back to where Naruto was standing, hands still outstretched and palms forward from using his Deva Path technique, the Chakra Push.

Rinnegan blazing, sunglasses off (his vision wasn’t augmented), Naruto glared at Suien, but the heat of it was outclassed by the look of sheer hatred Fu was giving the nukenin.

“Do you ever shut up?” Naruto raised his voice so that Suien could hear him, the ex-Taki ninja groaning as he picked himself up. “It’s always the same with creeps like you; you think that just because you can say that makes it so. We’re gonna make you eat those words!”

Shibuki, from his prone position where Fu had set him down, smiled weakly at the boy. “You tell him, Naruto…” He drew in a weak breath.

“Save your strength, Lord Shibuki,” said Fu, glancing at the rapidly-closing wound in his chest – apparently the Hero’s Water accelerated a person’s ability to heal as well their general power threshold.

Naruto held his hands in the Tiger Seal. “ _Shadow Clone Jutsu!”_ he yelled. Ten clones appeared, his chakra distributed equally between them as they charged. “Let’s see how you like this!”

Quickly surrounding him, the clones attempted to quick at Suien – only to find that his Chakra Shroud was solid, giving him the ability to block _all_ the kicks at the same time.

Suien smirked. “Ha! This old trick? It doesn’t matter how many times you split yourself, ten times zero is zero!” A Water Slicing Blade appeared in his hand, and with a single slash all ten clones were dissipated. Suien then jumped at Naruto, poised for an overhead strike, forcing the Uzumaki to unsheathe his blades from the gauntlets and cross them above his head to block the sword from killing him. This, however, left his chest open, and Suien kicked him away so hard he flew upwards and into the tree, hundreds of feet in the air.

 _Holy shit!_ Thought Naruto as Suien appeared in front of him with a Body Flicker, grabbing him and throwing him down into the water. _He’s fast!_

**Too fast and too strong for you right now, Naruto.**

Naruto’s answer was interrupted by the impact with the water. He floundered around, trying to regain his bearings as he felt a little bit of demonic chakra slip from the seal on his chest.

**Hmm, I sense Chōmei is nearby… that Taki girl is hiding a lot more than it seems.**

_What are you talking about?_ Finally able to identify which way was up, Naruto swam towards the roots of the Great Tree, remembering the hollow tunnels.

**Oh, you’ll see.**

Pulling himself out of the water, Naruto ran upwards into one of the tunnels that led outside. He came out on a branch overlooking the water, below from where he’d impacted when Suien had kicked him into the tree. Fu was fighting Suien, and Naruto’s eyes widened – the girl was surrounded by a green-colored chakra shroud that from what he could see with his Rinnegan originated from a seal on her upper back.

His train of thought was broken by Suien landing an uppercut on Fu that sent her flying. The nukenin followed with a jutsu that chilled Naruto.

_“Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!”_

Behind Suien, a massive torrent of water reached up in the shape of a wyrm, yellow eyes narrowed hatefully at Fu as its jaws opened in anticipation. Naruto acted, holding his palm towards the girl and visualizing what he wanted.

_“Chakra Pull!”_

Just in time, Fu was pulled towards Naruto as the jutsu’s jaws snapped closed, barely missing the girl. Suien howled in rage as he saw, the man’s anger burning through the confusion of what Naruto’s technique was. The girl flew towards Naruto, her confusion evident as to what was happening, and Naruto prepared himself to catch her.

The moment her chakra shroud came in contact with his skin, his eyes exploded with agony.

**Naruto! _Naruto!_**

The boy screamed, inside and outside his mind, howling in agony as he felt his eyes burn, the Rinnegan flaring brightly for a second as he fell, Fu catching _him_ this time before he could fall off the branch. Naruto couldn’t think, couldn’t feel but he _knew_ that something was happening, that something was changing, the _Rinnegan_ _was changing-_

And suddenly, the pain was gone. Naruto was left gasping, coughing as his body tried to recover from the shock he’d just received. His hands flew to his eyes, feeling his cheeks wet with something warm– he’d cried blood.

And then he looked up.

He couldn’t help but gasp. He’d been channeling chakra into the Rinnegan when the pain had hit, and he hadn’t stopped, so the scene he looked upon was shocking. There was chakra _everywhere_ – in the tree, the water, even in the air surrounding him, all of it in colors he couldn’t name or describe but were different and the same simultaneously. He looked down at the ground and saw that it too had the strange chakra running through it, a chakra so alien yet so familiar that Naruto couldn’t help but feel wary of it.

The sounds of battle drew his eyes, and once more he gasped. Before, he could see the color of people’s chakra, but the ability to see their chakra pathways was beyond his ability and only reserved to being able to see his own pathways. Now, he could distinctly make out the chakra pathways in the people below. Suien’s were inflamed, the stress of channeling so much chakra causing them extreme amounts of damage – damage that was certainly obvious to Naruto’s untrained eye.

But it was Fu who held his attention. The jinchūriki, for that was what she was, as before had a chakra shroud that was colored in what he could now specify as the same mint green as her hair with tinges of yellow running through the shroud. The chakra that was running through her pathways was a mix of her natural human blue and the mint green of her Tailed Beast, but without the extensive damage that Suien’s was suffering; on the contrary, it seemed as if the chakra that her Tailed Beast was giving her was at the same time _healing_ what little damage her pathways were suffering. Both Fu’s and the Tailed Beast’s chakra was also being channeled directly out of the seal and into her back, the shroud forming a pair of wings that were keeping the girl in the air.

 **Lucky Seven Chōmei,** said Kurama in Naruto’s mind. **The Seven Tailed Rhinoceros Beetle. My sister.**

“She’s like me…” said Naruto. “I can’t believe it.”

**If I were you I’d focus on that later, otherwise that fool is going to hurt her. That being said, here’s a little gift.**

“What are you…? Whoa!”

Naruto both felt and saw how suddenly red chakra was ejected out of the seal on his lower belly and into his pathways. He felt Kurama’s chakra, tinged with suppressed hatred and anger, invade his senses, forming a shroud not unlike Fu’s own shroud. At the same time, he felt how his body took to the chakra like it was a drug, feeling his muscles tremble with restrained power and his nails and teeth elongate slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the shroud form into a single tail-like appendage that waved side-to-side slowly.

He felt _powerful_.

“Kurama,” said Naruto, his voice deeper, gravelly, like a constant growl, “you’re a godsend.”

And with that he jumped off the branch. Upon touching the water, he took off towards Suien, who just managed to repel an attack from an airborne Fu.

“Why don’t you come down here, little bug!?” Suien roared, the girl grinning at him. “I’ll teach you to feel fear!”

Naruto charged towards the nukenin. “Afraid of you!?” Suien whirled, eyes wide in surprise at the blonde’s speed, “As if!”

Naruto’s fist impacted Suien’s chest, sending the man flying. Suien recovered quickly, landing on his feet on top of the water as he glared at Naruto.

“Another one of you freaks!?” he yelled. “I should’ve killed you when I had the chance!”

“Tough luck,” growled Naruto. Absentmindedly he noticed Fu touch down next to him. “A true ninja doesn’t take chances! That being said a true ninja is no coward! A true ninja doesn’t turn his back on his village for power! You’re nothing but a spiteful old man! You’re a coward! A coward who can’t fight on his own power so he looks for it somewhere else!” He sneered at the man. “And you want us to be afraid of you!? Ha!”

Suien growled, reaching into his jacket and pulling out the bottle with the Hero’s Water. “Well then,” he said, a mad glint in his eyes, “I guess it’s time to take off the kiddie gloves.”

Next to Naruto, Fu gasped. “No, don’t!” she screamed, but it was too late – Suien had uncorked the small bottle and thrown it back, drinking the _entire_ supply of Hero’s Water before throwing the bottle away.

The result was immediate. If Suien’s chakra shroud was large before, now it was monstrous, peaking at over teen feet high. Naruto’s eyes widened – the man himself was changing, his skin turning an angry red and his veins and tendons beginning to bulge horribly. More horrifying, however, was what was happening _inside_ him – the man’s chakra pathways were being burned and _torn_ from the sheer stress, as if being consumed by fire or liquefied by acid.

“Oh no,” Fu whimpered. “He- He drank _all_ of it!”

“He won’t last long,” said Naruto grimly. “He’s signed his death sentence by drinking that much of the water. His chakra pathways are gone – there’s almost nothing left. As soon as that shroud burns out, he’s dead.” He glanced at Fu, meeting her gaze. “We need to accelerate that before he causes too much damage. He’ll tear down the village otherwise.”

Fu nodded, her slight fear vanishing in a face of determination. “Right,” she said, looking back at Suien with a glare. “I’ll go high, you go low?”

“Agreed,” he said.

Fu glanced at him. “There’s so much I want to ask…” she started.

Naruto nodded. “After we finish this guy off,” he promised. She nodded once, her chakra wings beginning to beat and lift her up. _“Hidden Waterfall Style: Water Slicing Blade,”_ she said, holding out her hands, and two blades materialized in them.

Naruto simply clenched his fists, preferring to keep his blades hidden for now. He glanced at Fu, nodded once, leaned forwards, and charged, Fu right behind him. Suien roared, and did the same. The man was grinning savagely, his eyes crazed with power as he pulled a hand back to punch the oncoming Naruto. The blonde saw how the nukenin’s chakra shroud was covering the fist, and he knew that it would extend the man’s reach by quite a bit, so when he was close enough he leaned backwards and slid on his knees, delivering a Kyuubi-enhanced blow with his elbow to the man’s knee. Suien howled in pain, and Fu took advantage of the opening to deliver her own blow on the man’s shoulder, her swords cutting through the shroud like it wasn’t even there.

Blood filled the air as Suien roared his rage, his hand snapping out and batting Fu away with a quick hit that sent her flying a few feet away. Suien turn around to deal with Naruto, leading with a kick, but the blonde simply jumped over it and delivered his own kick to the man’s chest, pushing him towards a waiting Fu. She spun once and stabbed Suien with both swords, piercing through his back and leaving the blades there, jumping backwards before he could retaliate. The swords dissipated, not having any chakra to sustain them any longer and leaving behind two gaping holes in the nukenin’s chest that were quickly healing up as they watched.

What both genin noticed, however, was the significant drop in intensity of Suien’s chakra shroud. Their eyes met, Fu motioning upwards. Naruto nodded, signifying he understood, and Fu acted by attacking Suien while he was still distracted. She kicked him towards Naruto before flying off, and Naruto readied himself. He timed his attack, spinning once and giving Suien a roundhouse kick that hit the man on his chin _hard_ and sent him upwards.

Naruto glanced upwards once, looking at Suien, before planting both his feet back on the water. He crouched, launching himself upwards towards the still-flying Suien as Fu was flying downwards, her fist outstretched. She caught Suien in the face, smashing her fist into his cheek and whipping him back towards Naruto, the man spinning uncontrollably as he was inevitably received by another punch, this time to the chest. Suien spat out blood as his body was folded over the Uzumaki’s fist. Naruto let the man go, still in the air, and spun, kicking Suien in the back just as Fu caught up, hitting Suien’s neck with an axe kick. Both hits sent Suien flying downwards, the man’s body impacting the ground with a loud explosion of dirt and dust.

This time, Suien didn’t get up again.

Naruto began to fall, only to feel Fu’s arms slip under his own, hugging him from behind. Not saying a word, she began to lower them towards the area that Suien impacted, a few dozen meters away from the Village proper. Touching down, they walked forwards, approaching cautiously as their Tailed Beast shrouds dissipated when they noticed the man was still alive.

Though from his wounds, it was obvious that he wasn’t going to last. There was blood everywhere, and Suien’s body was littered with puncture holes and breaks, as if he was a balloon that had popped in more than one place. The chakra shroud was gone, but Naruto could see with his eyes that it was because all the extra chakra was being channeled into the man’s system, healing the body. Not that it would matter – from what he could see, Suien’s pathways were almost none-existent, and so even if most of the injuries his body had sustained healed, the man would be in agony and a cripple for the rest of his miserable life.

Naruto kneeled next to him, turning the man’s body so that he was on his back. He placed his hand on Suien’s chest, feeling the man’s labored heartbeat – it wouldn’t be long now.

“H-how?” asked Suien, his voice weak and periodically interrupted by hacking coughs that spit blood. “H-h-how?”

“True strength will always defeat strength obtained through a shortcut,” said Naruto. “You just weren’t able to see that.”

“S-Shibuki was… /cough/ Shibuki was weak,” whispered Suien.

“Shibuki values loyalty and hard work,” said Fu. “He may not be the strongest ninja around in physical terms, but he has the tools to become truly strong on his own. He’s not weak – today’s he discovered his own true strength.”

A couple more hacking coughs were her answer. More blood. “Please…” said Suien, eyes delirious in his pain. “…end it.”

Naruto frowned, glancing up at Fu. At her apathetic expression, he looked back at Suien, knowing that the chakra that was still in Suien’s system would heal any wound he could inflict, even if it was in the neck. Short of beheading, there wasn’t much Naruto could do, so he closed his eyes, his hand still on Suien’s chest.

If only there wasn’t any more chakra in Suien’s system…

Naruto’s eyes snapped open when he felt foreign chakra enter his system. He looked at his hand and gaped – the chakra that was in Suien’s body was flowing into his hand, absorbed into his own system.

 **The Preta Path,** said Kurama in Naruto’s mind. **The ability to absorb and give chakra from and to others. It also gives you the ability to absorb the chakra in ninjutsu, rendering them useless. A powerful Path, with the right mindset.**

Naruto acknowledged his tenant’s words in the back of his mind, seeing the proof with his very eyes. As he watched, the chakra in Suien’s heavily damaged chakra system dwindled down, becoming smaller and smaller until there was nothing left, and with a final gasp, Suien drew his last breath.

Taking his hand off of Suien’s chest, he reached up and closed the man’s eyes. “It’s done,” said Naruto.

“I know,” said Fu.

Naruto glanced at Fu. “You alright?” he asked her, standing up and placing a hand (not the one he’d used to absorb Suien’s chakra) on her shoulder in comfort.

“I… I’ll be fine,” she said. She shyly glanced up at him, looking at his eyes. “So… the Rinnegan, huh? Chōmei sounds happy about it…”

Naruto chuckled, taking his hand off of her shoulder and rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah,” he said. “Kurama wasn’t though. I’d appreciate if you could keep that secret…”

She shook her head. “You don’t even have to ask,” she said, smiling at him. A moment later, she held out her hand. “I guess I should reintroduce myself. I’m Fu, Jinchūriki for the Nanabi, Lucky Seven Chōmei. And it’s really nice to meet you!”

Naruto laughed. “I’m Naruto,” he said as he took her hand and shook it. “Wielder of the Rinnegan, and Jinchūriki for the Kyuubi, Kurama of the Nine Tails. And the pleasure’s all mine, Fu, believe it.”

They smiled at each other, and for a single moment, it was just a newly discovered friendship against the whole world.

**…ooOoo…**

Team Seven assisted in the cleanup of the Village Hidden in the Waterfall, a fact that the villagers and remaining Taki ninja heavily appreciated. Shibuki himself, who was still recovering from his wound, had personally thanked them more than once throughout the entire night, and when dawn broke across the sky, he and Fu personally escorted them out of the village amid the cheers of Takigakure.

Kakashi was waiting for them.

“Well, well,” he said when they finished telling him the story, “it sounds like you three had a full day.”

“Can’t you pretend to be even a little bit impressed?” grouched Naruto.

He smiled at them. “Oh, I’m proud of you,” he said, rubbing Naruto’s hair. “Very proud.”

Sakura smiled and turned towards Shibuki. “So are you going to be alright?” she asked him. The man’s chest was heavily bandaged, but he walking without assistance, not that it stopped Fu from staying nearby in case he fell.

“I’ll be fine,” said Shibuki, smiling at them. “I mean, I’m still the coward I was before…”

“But now you have the strength to face it and do what’s important,” said Naruto, grinning at him. “Besides, you drank the Hero’s Water and survived. If that’s not proof that you’re the villages’ hero, then I don’t know what it is!”

Shibuki laughed softly, wincing when it caused a lance of pain to go through his chest. “Oh, I don’t know about that,” he said. “You and Fu did pretty much everything.”

Next to him, the Nanabi Jinchūriki blushed. “It- it wasn’t much…” she muttered.

“But it was,” Shibuki refuted gently. “You’re a hero, Fu. I’m proud of you.”

The smile she gave him was infectious, and Naruto found himself mirroring it. He stepped forwards, and Fu reciprocated, hugging him tightly.

“I’ll see you around, Fu,” he said as they separated, smiling at her.

“I know,” she said. “Don’t forget to write to me!”

“I won’t, I promise.”

“And he never breaks his promises,” said Sakura.

“Especially to his girlfriend,” Sasuke added.

“What!?” Unknowing of his own reaction, he found himself blushing. “I- she’s not-! Traitors!”

Fu giggled, and Kakashi stepped forwards, his smile evident in his voice. “I think it’s time we headed home,” he said. “Shibuki, Fu, it was an honor. Take care of yourselves.”

“We will,” said Shibuki, holding his hand out. After a moment, Kakashi took it, shaking it once. “Thank you,” said Shibuki, “for everything.”

“It was out pleasure,” said Naruto. “Goodbye Shibuki.”

“Be careful with the wound,” said Sakura, smiling at Shibuki as Sasuke simply nodded his farewell.

Naruto turned towards Fu to say goodbye, but was frozen in surprise when he felt her lips on his cheek. “Goodbye Naruto,” she said, smiling at him with a shy blush as she stepped back.

“G-goodbye, Fu,” he said, still surprised yet grinning wildly. He glanced at his teammates and teacher, and with a nod, they turned around and ran to the forest edge, hopping into the trees and heading home.

When he looked back, Fu was waving goodbye.

When Team Seven began their trip to Takigakure, they’d departed from Konoha an hour before the sun rose and set out at a walk for Shibuki’s comfort, arriving at the village an hour before midday. Now, with the pace they were setting, they’d back in Konoha in at least an hour, perhaps two. Stomachs rumbling and thoughts on their beds, the genin didn’t waste any time, and their teacher nodded approvingly at their pace.

An hour and a half later, they made it.

“Whoo-hoo!” yelled Naruto as the gates came in sight. “Home sweet home!”

“Kakashi-sensei, we’re getting some downtime, right?” yelled Sakura.

“Of course,” said Kakashi, jumping down from the trees and continuing to run on the ground. “You seem to make it a habit to upgrade your missions. You deserve it.”

“Yeah! Shannarō!” yelled Sakura with a grin. Next to her Sasuke couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction. The team’s mood was bright, their outlook happy as they ran towards their home-

-only to stop at the sight of the ANBU waiting for them. The four ninja’s eyes were on the Black Ops ninja as he stepped forwards, holding two scrolls tied closed with a black ribbon each in his hands.

 _No,_ thought Naruto, his face paling.

A death note. Someone had died while they were gone. A family member. ANBU Black Ops delivered them to ninja who were out on missions when family members or friends died, waiting for them at the village entrance so that they would know as soon as they got home. Yellow Ribbons were for third-degree family members (cousins), Red for second-degree (uncles, grandparents, siblings), and Black for first degree family members… Parents and children.

There were two scrolls. Two people dead.

 _Oh god, please, not my mom_ , thought Naruto, his eyes on the scroll, _not Anko, please-_

“Sakura Haruno?” came the voice from behind the ANBU mask.

There was a gasp, and Naruto turned around towards his teammate, hating himself for the relief he was feeling as he moved forwards, only to stop when he saw Sakura collapse into Sasuke’s arms, tears streaming down her face. Naruto didn’t need to open the scrolls to know who’d died.

Sakura was an orphan now. Her parents were dead.

**…ooOoo…**


	10. The Bodyguard, the Friend, and the Enemy

Arc III – On Rising Wings; The Chūnin Exams of Team Seven

**...ooOoo...**

The funeral for Sakura’s parents was two days after Team Seven’s return from the Village Hidden in the Waterfall.

It was a small affair; as retired Shinobi, they retained a civilian status with shinobi paranoia, so they didn’t have many friends; in fact, the exact number could be counted on one hand and still have fingers left over. Coupled with the fact that both Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno, Sakura’s mother and father respectively, didn’t have any family members other than Sakura, the only people who went to their funeral was Team Seven, Anko, and the Hokage. Sakura lit their funeral pyre herself, and Naruto’s heart went out to her when he saw her tears reflected by the firelight.

The Hokage described them as heroes in the small speech he gave, but Sakura wasn’t listening, simply staring into the flames that consumed the bodies of her parents. Apparently they were on their way to a small farming village in Rice Country when the convoy was attacked by bandits and Ronin; Mebuki and Kizashi had done their best to defend the convoy, but were ultimately overrun by sheer numbers. There were survivors, but very little.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the first of such attacks; the meeting that Kakashi had been summoned for had been in regards to a similar attack that had just occurred an hour before he got the message. That same night he departed back to Taki after the meeting ended, missing the runner that reported the deaths of the Haruno’s by two hours. He never knew, and was just as grimly surprised as his students when he saw the ANBU waiting for them at the gates of Konoha, and by then, the Ronin and bandits had been hunted down and killed.

Unfortunately, the worse had yet to come. Because of her genin status, Sakura was considered a full adult, with all the rights that entailed, but at the same time there was no possible way she could make enough money to maintain the payments on the house her parents rented. On top of that, her parents had actually struggled to make ends meet – they lived off of the retirement benefits of being ex-Shinobi, which would have been fine if it was just the two of them, but Sakura’s birth had complicated things. Not that they were poor, not by a long shot, but they weren’t extravagant spenders either. Either way, whatever funds they had had been inherited by their daughter, but it wasn’t enough for her to stay in the house.

She had to move out, and she only had a week to find a place to stay.

Surprisingly, the solution had made itself known before the problem could actually become one. It was rather shocking how Kakashi, Anko, Sasuke and Naruto had simply shown up the next day at Sakura’s door, helped her pack her personal belongings and anything she might want to keep of her parent’s stuff, and moved her in to one of the houses in the Uchiha District – a house that Sasuke moved into as well, since the day he’d graduated he’d been living in an apartment located in the Konoha proper.

Sakura had asked one question when they arrived at the Uchiha district.

“Why?” Sasuke repeated. He looked off at one of the larger houses, his eyes pained. “Because this place needs new memories. I hated living here when I was still in the Academy; I could still see the bloodstains and the bodies, even in my sleep, so I moved out as soon as I could. Now… now I have a reason to come back, to face my demons. Besides…” he shrugged, an uncharacteristic blush appearing on his cheeks, “I’ve never had a roommate before. And I’d do anything for you. And Naruto. But don’t tell him that.”

The smile that Sakura gave him wasn’t quite a smile, but it was close enough to make Sasuke feel a lot better about moving back to the Uchiha District.

Funnily enough, the Hokage had been ready to appoint Kakashi as Sakura’s guardian, at least so that funds could be transferred quietly into Kakashi’s bank account for Sakura’s care, but in the end it wasn’t necessary. Both Sasuke and Sakura were adults, at least in the eyes of Fire Country law – they could do whatever they felt was necessary, no matter what other people said. Coupled with the unwavering support of Anko and Kakashi (and Naruto of course, but he really didn’t count as much), the two genin would be just fine.

In the end, Sakura’s new family made their position clear – they would be there for her no matter what.

And so, the month had gone by. Sakura was given the option of taking a few days off in order to mourn, but the girl hadn’t lasted the full day – she’d shown up for training before midday with a slightly different wardrobe than usual, retaining her dark red shirt, black shinobi pants and her heeled boots but switching out her white jacket for a slightly-too-big black leather jacket that was always zipped closed. Her teammates and teacher hadn’t asked, simply accepting it and moving on. Training was daily now, no weekends or free days allowed, and with the Chūnin exams so soon, they needed to take advantage of every moment they could.

Naruto, in particular, felt like he was a little behind, mostly because of his dōjutsu. He’d been having trouble finding a place to secretly practice his Deva Path abilities, and with the addition of the Preta Path, he felt wholly unprepared. It had been Sarutobi who’d given him the solution for the problem when Naruto had brought it up on one of the days he would help the old man out in his office.

“There is a training ground that is hidden away from prying eyes,” said the Sandaime. “It’s the training ground that every Hokage has access to so that we can hone our abilities. I can take you there, but I’m afraid that that’s the only way you’ll have access to it.” Hiruzen frowned. “That being said, am I take it that you haven’t been practicing with your eyes?”

Naruto took off his glasses, channeling chakra to his eyes, activating the recently-mutated Rinnegan – now instead of a single purple ring, there were two blue rings. “Not exactly,” he said. “I’ve been practicing at home with my mom, pushing and pulling stuff, but I can’t go full power with the Deva Path. The Preta Path is easier – I just have to absorb chakra from my mom. I can’t absorb too much though; it’s like it’s conflicting with my own chakra, like it isn’t mixing properly or something. It takes a while for me to be able to do the technique again.”

“You said that the Nine-Tails mentioned being able to nullify chakra-based techniques with this Path?” asked Hiruzen.

“Yeah,” said Naruto, “but I haven’t been able to figure it out. The last time I talked to him, he mentioned a Seal, so I’m working on that.”

“Hmm… very well, Naruto,” said the Sandaime, “I’ll take you to my personal training ground three times a week, starting tonight.”

“Really!?” Naruto grinned as he stopped channeling chakra to his eyes, the Rinnegan rings merging to reveal his normal cerulean-blue eyes. “Thanks old man, you won’t regret this, believe it!”

Hiruzen chuckled. “We’ll work on your Deva Path – I want you to focus on your offensive capabilities for now, since the Chūnin Exams are almost upon us.”

“You got it!”

This was where he was now, a little more than two weeks later. The Sandaime had left him alone tonight after citing Naruto’s unfortunate ability to figure out where the entrance to the training ground was on the first day – the Preta Path gave Naruto the side-effect ability of being able to spot Genjutsu. That being said, he’d be able to leave the area whenever he wanted, but he could only access it with the Hokage’s explicit permission. This was fine with Naruto – with the upcoming exams he needed as many advantages as he could get, and one-on-one tutelage with the Hokage whenever possible was nothing to be scoffed at. Old Man Sensei – as he’d taken to calling the Third whenever he was training with him – had given him insights and hints into chakra and chakra control he had no idea even existed, and his progress with the Deva Path had expanded tremendously.

It was this latter part of his progress that had also brought in a piece of rather juicy-looking information from the Kyuubi.

 **The Deva Path’s ultimate technique was the reason there is a story about the moon’s creation,** said the Tailed Beast one day as Naruto meditated.

“What do you mean?” asked Naruto, looking up at the great cage. Even laying down, Kurama’s face was still several feet above him, so he still had to look up towards the Fox. “Wait, you mean the moon was actually created by the Sage of Six Paths!?”

 **Not exactly,** said Kurama. **It is a similar enough technique that allows the creation of a gravity-based singularity. Depending on the amount of chakra used, the singularity can attract objects from wherever it can, accumulating and compressing the objects until a large celestial body is formed, perhaps the size of an asteroid or even larger. The moon was already created by the time my father lived, but this technique left the impression for that legend.**

“Wow…”

**Your awe is noted. We will begin to practice this technique as soon as possible.**

Naruto’s eyes widened. “You want me to make a moon!? Like right here, right now!?”

 **Don’t be a fool,** said Kurama, letting out a massive scoff that blew Naruto’s hair back. **I doubt you could make a rock the size of your head. The singularity had to be strong enough to be sustained in a point _outside_ of your body, with no physical contact between you and it. We will begin small.**

In the real world, Naruto’s Rinnegan eyes opened, the two rings flashing purple before turning blue. He stood up, brushing the small amount of dirt he’d accumulated on his body and looked around – he was alone in the Hokage’s training ground. He then placed his hands vertically in front of his sternum without them touching and his palms facing each other. He concentrated, gathering his chakra in a point between his two palms. Surprisingly, the singularity was easily formed, and Naruto grinned-

_Riiiiiiip!_

“Mother _fucker!”_ yelled Naruto in pain, his ruined hands clutched against his chest. _“Argh!”_ He looked at his hands, wincing at the damage; the singularity had stripped his palms of any flesh completely, exposing the bones and ligaments. Even those hadn’t escaped any damage, as he didn’t think they were supposed to be bent the way they were…

 **Get yourself to the Hospital,** said Kurama in his head. **You’ll be fine by tomorrow morning. We can continue this then.**

“R-right…” he gritted his teeth against the pain, glancing around the training ground with his eyes until they landed on the purple-haired, cat-masked ANBU that was always watching him when he was in the Hokage’s training ground. Nodding at her to signify that he was leaving, he turned to do so, only to stop in surprise when the ANBU body-flickered in front of him.

“Cat?” he asked, addressing her by her mask. “I need to get to the hospital…”

“Let me,” was all she said. She gently pried his right hand away from his chest, her hands glowing green as she took his hand between her own. Naruto hissed in pain, which turned into a sigh of relief as between her Mystical Palm technique, Kurama’s chakra, and his own regeneration, the injury began to heal at an accelerated rate. Of course, it wouldn’t be enough for him to continue training that night, but by tomorrow morning he’d be fine.

As Cat released his hand more than ten minutes later and took hold of his other, Naruto’s head cocked sideways. “I remember you,” he realized suddenly. “You took care of me when I was five. I had a broken arm…”

Cat chuckled, the sound slightly muffled by her mask. “Yes, that was me,” she said. “Lord Hokage has always entrusted me with your care. I am honored by his trust… and yours.”

Naruto blinked, confused. “Mine? Oh, you mean my eyes.”

“Yes,” said Cat. Emotionless as it was, her voice carried an undercurrent of awe to it as she continued. “The things I have seen you do in the past few days alone have been… humbling.” Even though the mask didn’t have any eyeholes, Naruto got the feeling that she was looking straight at him. “You will be powerful when you grow up, but an even better man.”

Naruto shrugged. “I guess,” he said, feeling a little uncomfortable with the praise.

“That is what I mean,” said Cat. “That is exactly what I mean. It is your character, your personality what will make you great.” Cat looked back down at his hands, becoming silent once more.

Naruto glanced down at his hands. The flesh had been partially restored, covering the bones once more, but the wound still dripped blood freely, the blood making a small pool between the two of them. Still, it would make going to the Hospital an easier trip, at least in terms of excuses for the strange wound.

“Thank you,” said Naruto.

“You are most welcome,” said Cat. She straightened up, the sword hanging from her back clinking ominously in its sheath. Naruto noted that the blade was a Katana, as opposed the standard tānto most ANBU used. “Lord Hokage has assigned me to be your protection detail,” Cat continued. “Outside of the Chūnin Exams, I will be following you wherever you go. I ask that you do not make this difficult for me.”

Naruto laughed. “Please,” he said. “As if anything I could do could slip past you. You’re ANBU!”

“You are ninja,” countered Cat. “You may still surprise me.”

Naruto glanced at the training ground exit, and then to his hands – he really needed to get to the Hospital. “Alright,” he said, “I don’t want a bodyguard, but I’ll do my best to make things easy for you on one condition.”

“This is not up to you, Naruto,” said Cat. “Regardless of your conditions, I will do what is asked of me.”

“I figured,” said Naruto, “but this is to make it less boring for you. I want a sparring partner, and I was hoping you’d help me out with that.”

Cat didn’t answer immediately. “Why?” she asked at last.

“Can we walk and talk?” asked Naruto instead, dodging the question. “I kind of need to get to the hospital…”

“Right,” said Cat, and Naruto thought that her voice sounded slightly chagrined. She stepped forwards, grabbing his arm. “This may be a bit uncomfortable,” she said, before transporting vanishing in a Body Flicker and taking him with her.

The experience was rather similar to a substitution technique, Naruto figured, just a lot more intense. When he’d recovered his bearings, they were standing in front of the hospital. Cat let go of his arm and nodded at the building. “Shall we?” she asked.

“Hey, thanks!” said Naruto, moving forwards, Cat following at his side. Checking in, he was quickly treated by an Iryo-nin, dodging questions as to how he’d been injured. Cat had vanished before entering the hospital, but Naruto could see her hiding in the corner of his room by surreptitiously activating his Rinnegan behind his sunglasses every now and then. He didn’t bring his attention to her, not even when they were alone in the room, and when he was finally cleared to leave, he did so, Cat removing whatever disguise she had on to blend in with her surroundings as soon as they were out of the hospital.

“Your eyes are quite… annoying,” she said in lieu of greeting when they left.

“Gah!” yelped Naruto, surprised at her sudden appearance. “Don’t do that!”

Cat actually giggled. “I have no regrets,” she said. She looked at him, and Naruto took the moment to appreciate her mask. It was a porcelain mask, ANBU standard, resembling a cat with three red stripes — one vertical stripe on the forehead and two horizontal stripes, one on each cheek. She was also dressed in ANBU standard black and grey armor, with metal arm- and shin-guards and black combat boots that he had no doubt were steel-toed. Her Katana’s handle was poking over her right shoulder, suggesting she was right-handed.

“Now, you were saying why you wanted me as a sparring partner?” she asked as they walked.

Naruto sighed. He held up his bandaged hands. “Here’s a reason why,” he said. “When I train, the way I get hurt is dangerous. It makes training how to fight with my eyes harder since I can’t actually practice against people my own level. I could accidentally kill Sasuke and Sakura with any of my techniques. Kakashi-Sensei would be good to practice against, or my mom even, but the only place I can go full power is at the Old Man’s training ground.”

“And Lord Hokage is almost always busy, so he can’t practice with you,” concluded Cat. “Which leaves me.”

“Yeah,” said Naruto. “What I’m saying is that I need a sparring partner I can go ham against. Someone who I know won’t get accidentally killed by anything I throw at them while at the same time being able to actually fight against me.”

Cat nodded. “I see,” she said. “Very well,” she added after a moment’s consideration, “I agree to your request. We can start tomorrow if you wish.”

“Thanks,” said Naruto. He frowned. “We won’t have much time to fight before the exams,” he said. “They’re less than two weeks away…”

“I understand that Kakashi-Taichou is training you every day, from dawn to dusk,” said Cat. “Lord Hokage would be willing to lend you the training ground at night for our use, I think. I will forward your request.”

“Thanks Cat,” he said.

“You’re welcome, Naruto.”

Cat vanished in a Body Flicker, taking to the rooftops or wherever she’d be able to watch him best, and Naruto kept walking as if he’d been walking alone from the start. ANBU were like that.

**…ooOoo…**

A few days later, Kakashi greeted them at their usual team training spot with three forms in his hands.

“Well, I nominated you for the exams,” said Kakashi as he handed the forms over. “The reaction was quite surprising.”

“Why, because of our ages?” asked Naruto.

“Yes and no,” said Kakashi. “Your classmates were volunteered as well. All of them.”

“That’s surprising,” said Sasuke. “At the same time, I can understand why it was done. The Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Aburame, Nara, Akamichi, and Yamanaka clan heirs were all in our class. There is a lot of prestige and potential money in their performance for these exams.”

“You forgot to mention yourself,” said Naruto. “I wouldn’t be surprised if half the audience will come to see _you_ fight, Sasuke.”

Sasuke scoffed. “The last loyal Uchiha,” he said with scorn. “I hate that title.”

“Regardless of your feelings of that title, it brings Konoha a large amount of money,” said Kakashi. He glanced at Sakura, who was silently filling in her application form – the girl was worryingly silent ever since her parents’ death. “And yet, your reputations precede you. Two A-ranked missions – Lord Hokage ruled your last mission as A-rank, since even though Suien and the other missing were B-ranked but there were hostages involved. You’re also now three of the very few ninja to know the actual location of the Village Hidden in the Waterfall and how to get there, which brings your prestige up by quite a bit; even I don’t know how to navigate the underwater tunnels to get to the village. On top of that, rumor has gotten out that the Hokage favors you over other prospective teams – rumor that we of course have allowed to roam free.”

“Because it gets us more clients, right?” asked Sasuke.

“Exactly. So you three have a lot riding on you for these exams. You also have to pass the exams and become chūnin, so there is no room for failure.”

“We won’t fail, Kakashi-Sensei,” Sakura spoke up for the first time. Her green eyes were like emeralds – appearing unbroken but hiding the imperfections.

“I don’t doubt that,” said the Team’s Sensei, smiling at them. “I just have to say it. Wouldn’t want my cute little students to throw it in my face later.” His smile faded. “You have the rest of this week off. And that’s an order,” he added upon seeing their expressions. “You’re to take time off and relax. Find a hobby, spend time with your friends, just don’t train. Keep up your fitness, practice your techniques, but you are not to push your limits _whatsoever_. If I find out you’re doing the opposite…”

The three genin shivered simultaneously at the open-ended threat; they knew how imaginative their teacher’s imagination could be. Kakashi smiled, knowing that his order would be followed, and began to leave, uncharacteristically walking away instead of Body Flickering away as he usually did.

“Sasuke, I’ll catch up,” he heard Sakura’s voice from behind him – the two came to and left the training the ground together since they’d moved to the Uchiha District.

“I’ll wait at Ichiraku’s,” Sasuke said, and Kakashi waited patiently for his pink-haired student to catch up to him, not stopping his pace. The Last Living Haruno managed to match her teacher’s pace, and they walked together in silence, side-by-side. A few minutes later, Kakashi had led them to his usual brooding spot – Konoha’s Memorial Stone, upon which the names of every fallen Konoha ninja were engraved.

“Their names were added the day they died,” said Kakashi after a few seconds of silence. He didn’t have to look at his student to see the flash of pain cross her face at the mention of her parents. “I know how you feel, Sakura,” he continued. “The pain of losing the ones you love… it never really goes away. My teacher, my genin teammates… they’re all dead. You simply learn to move on and accept that they’re never coming back. You learn to cope.”

“How?” croaked Sakura. Kakashi still didn’t look at her, even though he knew that she was looking up at him. “How do you…?”

“By talking to others,” he said. “I never did, so I never recovered, not really. You three kids have done more to heal me than any therapist could.” He finally looked at her, raising an eyebrow at her. “You going to tell me that Sasuke hasn’t helped?”

Sakura took a moment to answer, preferring to look at the Memorial Stone instead of him. “He… he has,” she admitted softly. “He’s been… sweet. He’s been… I don’t know where I’d be without him. Naruto and Miss Anko’s helped too. But…”

“I know,” he said. “You need to work through your pain, Sakura. Otherwise you’ll always carry it with you for the rest of your life.” He placed a comforting on her shoulder. “What Shinobi Rule Number 3?”

Sakura looked up at him, startled at his line of questioning. She said, “I, uh- ‘A Shinobi, under no circumstances, is to reveal any kind of emotion.’”

“That’s a bullshit rule,” Kakashi said bluntly. “Only ANBU truly live by it, and look at how they end up; look at how I ended up. Go home, Sakura, your _new_ home. Cry; I _know_ you haven’t truly, _properly_ cried. Cry, scream, break something – let it out, Sakura.”

“I- I’ll try,” she said. She would, Kakashi knew – similar to Naruto, Sakura was never one to hide what she was feeling, and she was close to breaking. The pinkette turned to leave, her head bowed in thought, and when she was almost out of sight, Kakashi called her.

“Sakura!” he called, the girl turning around to look at him. “One last piece of advice: trust in your teammates!”

And with that, he vanished.

**…ooOoo…**

Meanwhile, Naruto was in slightly more stressful situation, considering that it involved foreign ninja in his own village, Konohamaru, and an interruption to a home cooked meal by his mother (which meant takeout, really, but it’s the thought that counted). He’d been heading home when he came across the foreign ninja bullying Konohamaru and his two friends, the kid dressed in a leotard and makeup holding the Hokage’s grandson by his scarf while the kid’s teammate watched with a disinterested eye.

“Does this hurt you?” the foreigner said.

“Put him down, Kankuro,” said his teammate, “or you’ll pay for it later.”

“He’s gonna pay for it now,” said Naruto, making his presence known, gently pushing Udon and Moegi aside and behind him. “Put him down, kid, before I make you.”

“Boss!” said Konohamaru. “Help!”

“Hang in there Konohamaru,” said Naruto, not taking his eyes off of the kid. “Put him down, and hand over your passports. Now.”

The kid, Kankuro, looked over at him and smirked. “And if I don’t want to?” he asked. _Goddamn it, I fucked up,_ he thought. Behind him, his teammate was thinking along _other_ lines, ones more… _appreciative_ than his brothers’.

 _Oooh, local hottie,_ as a matter of fact.

Behind his glasses, Naruto’s Rinnegan flashed. He held up the clone sign, summoning five of them in the area. “I make you,” said Naruto. Cat flashed in next to him, her hand already on her still-sheathed Katana. “And she helps, believe it,” he added.

“Passports,” said the ANBU, her hand on the Katana.

“Whoa, whoa!” said Kankuro, letting go of Konohamaru suddenly and holding up his hands. “T-there’s no need for trouble!”

“I told you this’d happen,” muttered the blonde girl behind him as Konohamaru picked himself up and ran behind Naruto. She stepped forwards, holding her hands up. She was dressed similarly in a white battle-dress with mesh armor under it, a red sash on her wait, and a black rectangular object slung on her back. Her Sand Village forehead protector was slung on her neck. “Excuse my brother, he can be an idiot sometimes. I’m Temari of the Desert, and me and my brothers are here for-”

“For the same thing I am!”

Naruto looked around Temari and grinned. “Fu!” he yelled with a wave. The Nanabi Jinchūriki was dressed exactly as he saw her last, only she had a red cylindrical-type object on her back now. “Good to see you!” His amicable expression faded upon returning his gaze to Temari. “You were saying?”

“…we’re here for the chūnin exams. We’re from the Village Hidden in the Sands,” she finished lamely. She reached into her back pouch and pulled out her passport, holding it open on the necessary page.

“Brothers?” said Cat.

“I think she means the guy hanging from the tree over there,” said Naruto, watching the red-haired genin through the eyes of one of his clones. Thanks to the shared vision, he was also able to see the surprise on Kankuro’s and Temari’s faces when he mentioned the redhead, as well as the change in their body language. He glanced at Cat out of the corner of his eye, wondering if she noticed the change as well.

 _This guy’s chakra… it’s horrible,_ he thought, looking at the mix of blue and gold. Behind Kankuro and Temari, Fu’s blue chakra was prevalent in her system, with a few greens mixed in every so often. _It’s like he’s… no…_

“Kankuro,” said the genin, if he was that, “you’re an embarrassment to our village. Have you forgotten why we are here?” He spoke in a harsh-sounding voice, like he’d suffered from a sore throat and never recovered.

“I-I know, Gaara,” said Kankuro, looking up at him nervously. “I- I mean, here’s the thing, they challenged us-”

“Shut up,” said Naruto, “you’re in enough trouble as it is for bullying the Hokage’s grandson.”

Kankuro made it possible in that moment to appear even paler. _It was in this moment that he knew,_ Naruto thought, _that he fucked up._

“Oooh, I hate bullies,” said Fu, stepping forwards slightly. “He’ll never be my friend. Can I beat him up or would I get in trouble?”

“Yes, you would,” said Cat, though she sounded amused. She lowered her hand from her sword, and Naruto took it as a sign to dispel his clones. He blinked away the disorientation from losing the extra vision.

“I’m sorry for any trouble he caused,” said Gaara, looking over at Cat and Naruto. The look in his eye made Naruto tense slightly, and from the sudden spike in Cat’s chakra, he knew that she noticed the look as well.

Gaara’s chakra spiked, and he vanished in a sand-powered Body Flicker, reappearing next to his teammates. “Let’s go,” he said, “we didn’t come here to play games.”

“R-right,” said Kankuro, looking down at his brother. Even though he was significantly taller than the redhead, it was obvious that he was intimidated, no, terrified of him. The three began to walk away, and Fu moved to the side to let them pass. Naruto waited until they were a few feet past her to speak up again.

“By the way,” he said, “Identify yourself.”

“Hmm? You mean me?” the Kunoichi asked, turning around with a smile.

“Sorry,” grinned Naruto, “I meant your other brother, the one with the gourd. For the record, you know.”

The redhead stopped, looking back at Naruto. “My name is Gaara of the Desert,” he said. “I am curious about you too.”

Naruto’s smile disappeared. “The name is Uzumaki,” he said. “Naruto Uzumaki Mitarashi.”

The wind blew gently between the two, Naruto’s coat flapping slightly and giving more drama to the moment. Not that he noticed – he was having a silent staredown with Gaara of the Desert. After the moment ended, Gaara nodded once, turned around, and jumped away, his siblings following.

Naruto glanced at Cat as his Rinnegan deactivated, and then at the kids, who were silent as they watched the proceedings. Cat glanced at Fu, and he nodded, so Cat returned it and moved towards Konohamaru and his friends.

“Come,” she said, “I’ll take you to your grandfather.”

“O-okay,” he said. “Bye boss!”

“Bye,” he said. “Take care of yourself.”

When they were gone (though he had no illusions that the Cat had gone with the kids – probably a clone), he looked back at Fu, who stepped up next to him. “Hey,” he grinned. “How’ve you been?”

“Good!” she answered sincerely, smiling at him. “It’s been good. I got your letter… where’s Sakura? I wanted to… well…”

“I know,” he said. He’d paid a good amount of ryo to get a letter sent to Fu, detailing everything that had happened since their return from Taki, including the news about Sakura’s parents. He hadn’t gotten an answer back, but now he knew why – she wanted to deliver it in person. “She’s… around,” he said at last. “Probably back at her house with Sasuke. We can meet up with her later.”

Fu nodded. “Okay,” she said.

“So… welcome to Konoha,” he said, spreading his arms and spinning once. “How do you like it so far?” he asked.

Fu giggled. “It’s nice,” she said, “It’s really nice. It’s a nice change… you know. The looks…” She grimaced. “They look at me like I’m a hero. It’s… confusing.”

Naruto nodded, understanding. “I get it,” he said. “You’re used to one thing, and now…”

And he did understand. That night, after Suien died, he and Fu had talked as they helped clean up the village, bonding over their mutual experiences as jinchūriki and quickly become fast friends. One of the things they’d had in common was how their respective villages treated them, how their gazes were always silently judging, whether it was with hatred or fear. It also helped him understand on Fu’s desire for more friends, since she didn’t have any growing up.

Naruto shook his head. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go.”

“Huh?” she asked. “Where to?”

Naruto smiled and grabbed her hand. “Well, there’s someone I want you to meet,” he said, pulling her. “But first, you’re due for a tour of Konoha, led by Naruto Uzumaki! Come on, it’ll be great!”

“Naruto, wait!” Fu protested, but at the same time she laughed happily as she allowed herself to be lead away.

**…ooOoo…**

“Aww, Naruto,” said Anko with a teasing smile as she opened the apartment’s door, “You’re already bringing home girls for me to meet!”

“Mooom,” he protested.

Anko laughed and gave Fu an appreciative glance, her eyes landing on the Taki headband. “Come on in,” she said, smiling welcomingly at her. “Lunch’s about to be served, and I’d like to meet the famous Fu over a good meal.”

Fu blushed. “Famous?” she asked, glancing at Naruto, the boy not meeting her gaze as he hung his coat up. Fu’s jaw was under risk of dropping when she saw the amount of armor he was hiding under it; his upper back, shoulders, and arms were completely covered, while at the same time his lower chest area was unguarded. _Probably so that he doesn’t lose his flexibility,_ she thought, remembering how he was able to slide under Suien’s kicks and dance around them as well.

“Yeah,” Anko’s voice brought her out of her thoughts, and her blush intensified as she realized she’d been caught ogling Naruto. Anko gave her a knowing smirk. “But don’t worry,” she said, “he’s only said good things about you. Actually, now that I think about it he was almost singing praises…”

“Mooom!” came the second protest, and this time Fu couldn’t help but giggle.

A few minutes later, the three were sitting around the table, plates and chopsticks clinking as they ate. “So, Fu,” said Anko, “Naruto mentioned your little tenant.”

Fu nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, Chomei,” she said. “She’s the Seven Tailed Rhinoceros Beetle.”

“How long have you been a jinchūriki?” asked Anko.

“Umm, I think I was three years old,” she said. “The previous jailer died, and I was the only one who could handle Chōmei’s chakra. So, ten years.”

“And have you met others like you? Other than Naruto, I mean.”

“No, Naruto was the first,” she said. She laughed slightly. “I’m lucky to have met him, he’s really nice.”

“Well I hope he is, considering I raised him,” said Anko, smiling at her son. The smile faded upon seeing the pensive expression on Naruto’s face. “Naruto?”

Naruto looked up apologetically. “Sorry, mom,” he said. “Just thinking…”

“About what?” she asked.

“Well…” he said, glancing at Fu with a nervous look. He took a deep breath and began, “we met a group of sand genin today…”

He told the story of what happened, and when he finished Anko frowned. “You’re right,” she said, “that genin is probably someone to keep an eye on, but I still don’t see what has you worried.”

Naruto sighed. “I took a look at his chakra,” he confessed. He wasn’t worried about what Fu would understand from that, as she already knew about the Rinnegan. He continued speaking, “The thing is… he had two different chakra signatures in his system.”

Anko sucked in a breath. “You think he’s…?”

“Yeah,” said Naruto, “A Jinchūriki. And he’s dangerous.”

Fu shivered. “Three Tailed Beasts in one Hidden Village,” she said. “You and I are friends Naruto, but even I can tell that that’s just asking for trouble. Do you think your Village Leader knows?”

Naruto sighed. “I honestly don’t know,” he said. “Cat – the ANBU that was there – she didn’t say if she noticed anything, but I get the feeling that she’s going to report him to the Hokage anyways, he was just that creepy. The look in his eyes…”

“Like bloodlust,” said Fu. “A constant, crazed bloodlust that’s barely held back. Before Suien left Taki, he had a similar look in his eyes.”

Anko bit her lip. “I’ll report your findings to the Hokage,” she said, “but I think he’ll want to hear it from you.”

“I’ll see him tonight,” he said and Anko nodded.

“Good,” she said. She grabbed her empty plate and stood. “Eat up you two. I’ll head out now, catch him before I get back to work. If you leave the apartment, just make sure you lock up. Other than that, try to keep the noise level down.”

“You got it mom,” said Naruto, ignoring the innuendo. Fu, from her confused look, didn’t get it, but he wasn’t going to enlighten her. A few minutes later, his mom left, and Fu and Naruto continued to eat their lunch in silence.

“So,” said Naruto, breaking the silence, “you never mentioned your teammates…”

Fu winced. “They’re not,” she said, looking downcast. “People aren’t supposed to know this, but Shibuki assigned two Jōnin to take care of me and pretend they’re genin. He’s worried about me, and I always thought he was being overprotective, but with this Gaara guy… I can see where he’s coming from.”

“They don’t like you?” asked Naruto.

“Not exactly,” she said. “It’s more like they don’t like the mission they’ve been assigned.” She sighed. “They’re… not very friendly either.”

“Ouch,” he said. “But what about during the exam? Wouldn’t that interfere with…?”

“Apparently, their mission is to just keep an eye on me and follow me wherever I go,” she said. “If I run into something that I can’t deal with, then they’re backup.”

“You’re a jinchūriki,” said Naruto, “there isn’t much you can’t deal with.”

“Like another jinchūriki?” asked Fu.

“You got me there,” said Naruto. “I guess we’ll have to keep an eye for each other during the exams.”

“If we can,” said Fu. “What if we’re too far away-? Oh, that could work!”

“Huh?”

“Lucky Seven says that if you use the Kyuubi’s chakra, she can feel it,” she said. “She can guide me towards you! She says that it’ll work from your end, too!”

 **It’s true,** said Kurama in his mind, **I’ll be able to feel the bug’s chakra. Coupled with your eyes, there’s not much that’ll slip by me.**

“Yeah, he agrees,” said Naruto. “So we’ll do that then.”

Fu smiled. “Good!”

They continued to eat in silence, and when they were done they went ahead and cleaned up. “Say, wanna head out, finish that tour?” asked Naruto. “I have to leave for training around five o’clock, but we still have some time before that…”

“Sure!” said Fu. “I’d love to! Konoha is so nice… and your monument for the Hokage is kind of scary, but the detail on it is incredible…!”

**…ooOoo…**

_One week later… July 1 st – Chūnin Exam Day – Phase 1_

“So…” said Naruto, looking up at the Academy building. “This is it. Room 301, right?”

“Yes,” said Sakura, her jacket (finally) unzipped, her stance relaxed but her shoulders tense. She glanced at her Uchiha teammate with a small smile. “You feeling excited, Sasuke?”

“Yeah,” he answered. “This is it, this is what we’ve been training for.”

“Hell yeah,” said Naruto excitedly, “we’re going to wipe the floor with the competition!”

“I should hope so,” came the voice of their teacher. Kakashi stepped from behind them and placed his hands on Naruto and Sasuke’s shoulders, Sakura standing between them and craning her neck backwards to look up at him. “I didn’t spend these last few months busting your asses so that you could fail now.”

“We won’t let you down, Sensei!” said Sakura, her old fire back in her eyes. She clenched her fist, smacking it against her open palm. “They won’t see us coming!”

Kakashi chuckled. “Good,” he said. “Oh, and Sakura? Glad to have you back with us.”

Sakura blushed, looking away, but with a small wistful smile on her face. She felt her teammates move closer to her, and she looked up at them.

“We’ve got your back, Sakura,” said Sasuke.

“Yeah,” said Naruto, “what he said, believe it!”

Sakura smiled in thanks for their support. “Thanks, guys,” she said, looking up at the building. It didn’t seem so intimidating anymore.

Behind them, Kakashi chuckled. “I’m proud of you three. I couldn’t ask for a better team.” He stepped back, and before he vanished in a Body Flicker, he left his parting words: “Go teach these fools why Team Seven is the best of Konoha.”

“We will, Sensei,” said Naruto, but their teacher was already gone. He stepped forwards. “Let’s go,” he said.

They stepped inside, and after getting directions for the room they needed to get to, they took off. On the second floor, they passed a group of people trying to get into Room 301, but on a signal from Sakura they kept going.

“Genjutsu,” she said when they climbed up to the next floor. “Room 301 is on the third floor.”

“Huh,” said Naruto, glancing back at the stairs they’d just climbed. “I need to brush up on that. My eyes can see through them, but without them activated…”

“You’ll figure it out,” said Sasuke. “I only noticed the genjutsu after Sakura told us to keep going.” He looked at his female teammate. “Good job.”

She smiled brightly in response. “Thanks!” she said. They kept going down the hall, where room 301 was located – the largest classroom in the Academy Building. Upon reaching the door, they didn’t stop, opening it and entering together with Sakura on the left, Sasuke on the right, and Naruto in the middle.

Naruto whistled. “Well,” he said. “Lots of meat.”

The room was crowded. Foreign genin were everywhere, though the Konoha headband was prevalent as well. In one corner, Naruto spotted Fu’s green hair, but he didn’t acknowledge her, as two rows away from her the Sand genin were sitting down.

“Groupie, 3 o’clock,” muttered Sasuke.

“ _Sasuke!”_ The yell was accompanied by a blonde girl throwing herself onto his back. The Uchiha twitched, obviously restraining himself from throwing the Yamanaka off of him. “I was hoping you’d be here, I was missing those gorgeous good looks of yours!”

“Ino, get off of him,” said Sakura, annoyed.

“Forehead, they let you in?” said Ino, her tone of fake surprise fooling no one. “Wow, standards must be getting pretty low… and what’s with the black? Is it the new pink or something?”

“None of your business,” came the answer.

“She’s as annoying as ever,” muttered Naruto, reaching into his coat and pulling out his sunglasses.

“What’d you say, loser!?” Ino stepped away from Sasuke, and the Uchiha gave his teammate a thankful glance.

“I said, that you’re as annoying as ever, Ino,” said Naruto. He looked straight at her, his eyes boring through his glasses and into hers.

Ino found herself blushing. “W-well, you’re as u-ugly as you always were!” she muttered, her earlier bravado gone. _I’m lying_ , she thought, _I am most definitely lying. Sakura, you lucky girl, two hotties on the same team!_

Naruto smirked at her, as if knowing what she was thinking. “As you say,” he said, and his gaze moved on to her teammates, who were coming up behind her. “Shikamaru, Choji,” he said, in lieu of greeting.

“Hey, Naruto!” said the friendly Akimichi.

“Aw man, what a drag,” said Shikamaru, his hands in his pockets. “I knew that this exam would be troublesome, but I didn’t know you guys were going to be here.”

“That makes the whole rookie nine,” said another voice. Both teams looked over to Team Ten, composed of the arrogant Kiba Inuzuka and his puppy companion Akamaru, the stoic Shino Aburame, and the shy Hinata Hyuuga, the three (sorry, four) individuals walking up to the group. “I guess the gang’s back together again,” Kiba continued, cocky smile in place.

“Hi Naruto!” said Hinata with a bright smile.

“Hey Hinata,” said Naruto, smiling back at her. They’d been good friends while in the Academy after he saved her from some bullies. He knew that there was a time she harbored a crush on him, but she’d moved on eventually from that. That still didn’t stop her from spending a couple of nights over at his house when her father was too rough on her – she and Anko were even closer than he was with the blue-haired Hyuuga.

“You too, huh?” said Shikamaru.

“Yup!” said Kiba, “The Nine Rookies together again. This exam’ll be a breeze! Well, for those who can make the cut, right Sasuke?”

“Careful Kiba,” warned the Uchiha, “you might have to take that back later. I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Naruto chuckled. “I second that,” he said. “Look around you – everyone here’s looking for a good meal, Kiba, and we’re on the menu. And would you look at that,” he said, spotting six specific headbands of two distinct Villages, “even Iwa and Kumo have sent teams. This exam is going to get nasty, really fast.”

“Heh,” said Kiba, “afraid already? You always were a wimp, Naruto.”

“And you never took a shower,” countered Naruto. “Even Akamaru smells better than you. Seriously, how do you plan to be a ninja if you can’t even take care of your own stench?”

Sakura giggled, while Hinata and Ino hid their amused reactions. Sasuke for his part smirked. “Game, set, match,” he said.

“Need some water for that burn, Kiba?” asked Shikamaru. “Might even get rid of the smell…”

Kiba actually growled, but before he could retort he was interrupted. “Guys, keep it down,” said the new arrival, his headband denoting him a Konoha ninja and his glasses shining ominously in the electric light. “You’re making a spectacle of yourselves! Just cool it, this isn’t a class field trip!”

“And who asked you?” snapped Ino. “Who are you, anyways?”

“His name is Kabuto Yakushi,” said Sakura. “He works at the hospital.”

“Hello Sakura,” he said. “Anyways, her teammate’s right, you’ve made quite the impression. Look around you,” he added, nodding at all the glaring faces from the rest of the genin. “Food on a platter is an apt description for you nine. Not that it’s your fault – you’re rookies. Heh, you remind me of myself a while back…”

“Not your first time in these exams, right?” asked Sakura.

“No, it’s…” he trailed off, “…my seventh.”

“Damn,” said Naruto. “Two chūnin exams a year, seven times… this is your fourth year. That sucks. Then again, information wins wars… got anything to share?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” said Kabuto, reaching into his weapons pouch and pulling out some orange-colored cards. “I can give you some information-”

“Not here,” said Sasuke. “Let’s move… someplace else.”

“Er, right,” said Kabuto. He led them to a secluded corner at the back of the classroom and knelt, putting his deck of cards on the floor. “Now, these ninja info cards are chakra-encoded with everything I’ve learnt over the past four years. I’ve got more than two-hundred of them, so you see, I haven’t been completely wasting my time.” He took one of the cards, set it aside and placed his finger on blank side of it, and after a second, there was a poof of smoke, revealing a map of the Shinobi nations. “For example, according to this map, there are one-hundred and fifty-nine participants in this exam – thirty from Suna, twenty-one from Ame, fifteen from Kusa, twelve from Taki, seventy-two from Konoha, and three from Oto, Iwa, and Kumo each. Oto’s a new village – the Hidden Sound Village – and this is the first time that Kumo and Iwa send prospective teams to Konoha. We don’t like each other very much.”

“Do those cards of yours have any info on the other candidates?” asked Sasuke. “Like, individuals?”

Kabuto got a knowing look. “They might,” he said. “You have someone special in mind?”

Sasuke nodded. “I might,” he said.

“Well, I can’t promise you anything,” said Kabuto, taking back his map, dispelling it and blanking out the card before placing it back in his deck. “I’ll give it a try, I have a little of everything in these cards. Even on you guys. So,” Kabuto began to shuffle the cards, “give me anything you might know about them, villages, descriptions, anything.”

“Gaara of the Desert,” said Sasuke. “He’s from Suna.”

“Well that’s no fun,” said Kabuto, “You already know his name. That’s easy-”

“Give me Sasuke’s card,” Kiba interrupted, glaring at the boy in question. “And Naruto’s while you’re at it.”

“Kiba!” protested Hinata. “Stop it!”

“No, it’s fine,” said Naruto, “honestly, I’m curious what it’s going to say.”

Kabuto gave him a strange look. “Alright,” he said. He stopped shuffling, picking three specific cards from the deck. He placed them on the ground and tapped the first one. “So, first off is Gaara of the Desert,” he said. “Mission experience: eight C-ranks, and, get this, one B-rank. There’s not much info on this guy, nothing on his skills, but get this – it’s specifically noted that he went through every mission without getting a single scratch on him.”

“The dude’s been on a B-rank as a genin?” asked Shikamaru, his face worried. “And he’s never gotten injured?”

Naruto glanced at his teammates, knowing they would share his opinion – on both A-ranks, they’d suffered plenty of injuries themselves. “What’s the deal with this guy…?” he muttered. He looked at Kabuto, looking for confirmation. “Teammates?” he asked.

“Temari and Kankuro of the Desert,” answered Kabuto. “His older brother and sister – she’s the eldest of the three. They’re the Kazekage’s children.”

 _Jinchūriki status, confirmed,_ thought Naruto. _He’s royalty, and by blood he’d be fiercely loyal to Suna._

Kabuto moved on to the next card. “So, Sasuke Uchiha,” he said, revealing the card’s contents. “This one’s easier,” he said. “Mission Experie- no, that can’t be right…”

“What is it?” asked Kiba.

“…two A-ranks?” asked Kabuto, looking up at Sasuke and his teammates with awe. “What…? How?”

Sasuke shrugged. “They were originally C-ranks,” he said. “The rating was upgraded mid-mission. On both occasions.”

The rest of the genin took a step away from them. “Okay, I’m feeling the pressure,” said Choji. “How’d you even live through that?”

Naruto winced. “With a lot of luck,” was all he said.

“I’ll say,” said Kabuto, looking back at his card. “So, Sasuke, two A-ranks, and twelve D-ranks. Abilities are balanced out in Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, along with some Kenjutsu. Teammates are Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, and his jōnin is Kakashi Hatake. Noted to be the Last Loyal Uchiha, and that his Sharingan has activated. That’s all.”

“Jeez,” said Kiba. “I’m regretting having asked… I’m guessing Naruto’s won’t be as impressive.”

 _I hope not,_ thought Naruto. _If he ends up having too much information on me, then that means we have a stranger in our house._ ‘A stranger in our house’ meant there was a spy.

Kabuto picked up the last card. When the chakra revealed its contents, Naruto’s heart gave a jump – he could see the blacked-out parts from his position.

“Well, well,” said Kabuto, “secrets galore. Not much info on your teammate, Sasuke. Mission experience and teammates are known, obviously, but his skills have been blacked-out. Somebody doesn’t want people knowing about Naruto. Any extra notes… well, other than his mother is Anko Mitarashi and that he’s adopted, the rest is blacked out as well.”

 _The ANBU must have gotten rid of the info,_ he thought. _Still, to even have access to that file… I think there’s a stranger in our house._

“And that’s our cue for staying away from these guys during the exam,” said Shikamaru. “Man, what a drag.”

Naruto grinned to hide his unease. “Aw, come on Shika, there’s no need to be like that!” he said.

Kabuto took his card back. “Well, you guys get the point,” he said. “These particular exams are going to be tough. In my four years, I’ve never seen a crop of candidates with as much potential as this bunch.”

“You could even say that these exams are made to make you lose your confidence,” said Hinata, her face worried.

“It’s a fine time to start talking like that!” yelped Ino.

“Do you really think these exams are going to be tougher than usual, Kabuto?” asked Sakura, her face expressionless.

“Oh yeah,” came the answer. “We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Sasuke grinned. “Good,” he said. He looked at his teammates. “We’ve been looking for a challenge.”

“Hell yeah!” said Sakura.

Naruto glanced at the worried faces of the rest of the rookies, watching them suffer under peer pressure, and he took the initiative. “Hey losers!” he yelled, turning to look at the rest of the candidates. “My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and by the time I’m through with all of you my name is going to be engraved in all your asses, believe it!”

“What the-!? What’s wrong with this guy!?” yelled Ino, looking at Sakura accusingly. “Tell your boyfriend to shut his trap!”

Sakura laughed in response. “Classic Naruto!” she said. “Leave some for the rest of us!”

Sasuke smirked confidently. “He’s done his job,” he said in a voice that wouldn’t carry. “Now, they’ll be focused on him instead of the rest of us.”

Shikamaru heard him, glancing at the Uchiha. “Team dynamics, huh?” he said. “What a drag.”

“Could you say that again?” Kiba asked Naruto, smirking sarcastically, “I don’t think that everybody heard you- Whoa!”

_Shling!_

Naruto’s blades ejected, his eyes tracking the fast-moving targets heading towards them. Three ninja, moving so fast their bodies were blurs, two to distract, one to attack, the latter pulling his long sleeve back and revealing a device on his arm-

Sakura and Sasuke moved as well. They intercepted the other two blurs, Sasuke drawing his sword and Sakura her warhammer, the girl actually going through and slamming the handle in the stomach of one of the blurs, a black-haired girl dressed in grey camouflage and wearing a sound-note headband – Otogakure; the other blur, dressed in similar attire, stopped in front of Sasuke.

Naruto managed to catch up to the other guy, the one with the gauntlet on his arm, as he was heading towards Kabuto. The Oto Shinobi, surprised at his appearance, swung with his gauntleted arm, and Naruto distinctly heard _something_ come from the gauntlet, so he stepped _into_ the blow, placing one of his blades in the path of the genin’s arm and the other at his neck.

The blow stopped in its tracks, Naruto’s left blade _millimeters_ away from piercing skin and leaving the Oto genin without an arm.

Naruto stared into the only visible eye of the Oto Shinobi. “Feeling frisky, asshole?” he said.

“Well, well,” came a drawling voice from behind the bandaged visage of the genin. “Looks like your bite matches your bark.”

Naruto glared.

 **There was chakra being channeled into that hit,** said Kurama in his mind. **I’m nullifying the damage now. Not sure what it was – I’ve never seen anything like it.**

 _I’m feeling it,_ thought Naruto, and he did – his stomach was feeling ready to send his breakfast back up full price plus taxes. Whatever the technique was supposed to do, he’d interrupted it before it could complete its effect.

Not that he let his opponent know, of course. Besides, he never even got the chance, as suddenly there was a large explosion of smoke from the front of the classroom, on the opposite side of the quarreling genin.

“All right you baby-faced degenerates, pipe down and listen up!”

The smoke began to clear, revealing a group of people, all dressed in grey-colored uniforms. At their head was a man wearing the same uniform, but with a black trench coat on top, not unlike Naruto’s own night-ops black coat. The man had a massive scar on his cheek that went from over his left eye all the way to his jaw, crossing over his lip. A smaller scar was on his other cheek, at the exact same angle, going from below his right eye and going around his jaw.

“It’s time to begin!” yelled the leader. “I’m Ibiki Moreno, your proctor, and from this moment… your worst enemy!”

He glanced over at the Oto genin and Team Seven. “First, you candidates from the Village Hidden in the Sound,” he yelled, pointing at them. “Knock it off! Who told you you could fight? Do you want to be failed before we’ve even begun!?”

The Oto genin facing Naruto stepped back, and Naruto pulsed his chakra on his arms, sheathing the blades. The genin smirked at Naruto, and looked back at Ibiki. “Sorry,” he said, sounding slightly patronizing, “it’s our first time. I guess we’re a little jumpy… sir.”

Ibiki scoffed and looked at the rest of the assembled genin, the scars on his face plus his attire making him an imposing figure. “Let me make something clear,” he said. “As of this point there it to be no combat between candidates, no attacking each other without the permission of your proctor, and even then the use of fatal force is _strictly_ prohibited!” Ibiki lowered his voice, but the room was now so quiet that everyone could hear it. “Anyone who even thinks of messing with me will be disqualified _immediately_ , got it?”

The Oto genin Sasuke had faced, the one with a strange headdress, chuckled. “No fatal force?” he asked. “Well that’s no fun.”

Some of the other men and women standing behind Ibiki chuckled, as if sharing an inside joke. Ibiki ignored the genin and continued to speak. “Now,” he said, “you will all hand over your paperwork. In return you will be given a number, which will tell you exactly where you are going to sit. We’ll start the written test once you are all seated.”

For the first time today, Naruto felt true fear. “The… written test?” he quietly repeated, dread pooling in his stomach. As if answering him, one of the uniformed men (was that Kotetsu? Or Izumo? He couldn’t tell) held up a stack of papers and waved it at him.

Naruto whimpered. “I’m doomed.”

**…ooOoo…**

Seated in spot number fifty-three, Naruto glanced around surreptitiously, locating Sakura two rows behind him and Sasuke three rows to his right and four behind. On Naruto’s right, Hinata was seated next to him, and they exchanged wishes of good luck to each other.

“Eyes front,” said Ibiki. “There are a few rules you need to be aware of, and I won’t answer any questions, so you better pay attention the first time around!

“First rule: the exam is conducted on a point reduction basis,” yelled Ibiki, turning to the blackboard and writing the rule down. “Contrary to what you may be used to, you will all begin with a perfect score of ten points. One point will be deducted for each answer you get wrong.

“Rule number two: Teams will pass or fail based on the total scores of all three members.” This rule led to various exclamations being made by the assembled genin. Naruto groaned; if he flunked this test, Sasuke and Sakura would never forgive him since they’d fail with him. _I didn’t train for this!_ he thought, _I’m combat oriented, not a walking book! That’s Sakura’s job… not that I’ll ever say that to her face…_

“Now, Rule Number Three,” continued Ibiki. “The Sentinels you see around the room are there to keep an eye on you and to look for any signs of cheating, and for every incident they catch, they will subtract two points from the culprit’s score.” Ibiki smirked. “Be warned – their eyes are extremely sharp, and if they catch you five times you’ll be out before the tests are even scored. Anyone foolish enough to be caught and eliminated by the sentinels doesn’t deserve to be here!”

 _Wait,_ thought Naruto, ‘ _foolish enough to be caught…’ Iruka would say something like, ‘you better_ not _cheat!’_ Naruto frowned, _Iruka wouldn’t want us to cheat, but the way this guy is talking… and there are_ five chances to not get caught cheating! _I only need one glance, one cheat, and I’m scot free!_

He grinned confidently as Ibiki continued. “If you want us to consider you Shinobi, then show us what exceptional Shinobi you can be,” he said, confirming Naruto’s conclusion. _Look beneath the underneath,_ thought Naruto, _that’s what Kakashi always told us._   “And finally, the last rule: If one team member gets a zero on his test, then the entire team fails.”

 _And there’s my motivation to not mess this up,_ thought Naruto. “Fuck,” he said out loud.

“The final question on the exam will not be given until fifteen minutes before the end of the allotted time,” said Ibiki. “You’ll have one hour total.” Ibiki glanced at the clock behind him, and as soon as it struck three-thirty, he yelled, “ _Begin!”_

**…ooOoo…**


	11. Welcome to Hell

Arc III – On Rising Wings; The Chūnin Exams of Team Seven

**...ooOoo...**

As soon as Ibiki gave the word, Naruto flipped his exam around and began to scan the questions. Noting the blank spot reserved for question ten, he read through the rest of the questions and scowled.

 _This stuff…_ he thought, _this isn’t genin material. I may not have been the brightest bulb in the Academy, but even I know that this is way too advanced for us. Sakura might know, but I doubt Sasuke does. Code decryption? Trajectory and Vector Analysis based on Uncertainty Principles? What the fuck?_

Naruto glanced around surreptitiously at the classroom, noting the dismaying expressions of most of the genin. _Nobody knows this crap,_ he realized, _so I need to look for someone to cheat from. I don’t have information, so where do I look for it? Sakura would be perfect, but she’s_ behind _me… so is Sasuke…_ He glanced at Hinata, her face dismayed as well. _Hinata would be perfect, with her Byakugan, but she hasn’t realized that she needs to cheat in order to pass. Hopefully she gets it, but in the meantime…_

 _So, five chances to get caught,_ thought Naruto. _Well, four, ‘cause the fifth’s just going to eliminate me. I need to find someone to cheat from, someone who looks sure about what they’re doing. Let’s see… wait,_ he thought, glancing at Hinata, _the Byakugan reveals chakra pathways and sees through solid objects… there are chakra pathways in the fingers!_

He held up the snake sign under the table, hunching over slightly. His Rinnegan activated (thank goodness he’d put on his glasses when he’d come in), and the world began to light up in hues of chakra. While he couldn’t see through people, he could see the pathways of the people nearest to him – including the guy in front of him, who was writing quickly and surely.

 _Got you,_ he thought, and began to mimic the way the guy wrote… and quickly gave up. _I can’t tell what he’s writing,_ he thought, _but at least I know that he’s one to keep an eye on._

Naruto closed his eyes, not letting the chakra to his eyes go. Exhausting as it was to keep the Rinnegan active, it wasn’t as draining as the Sharingan, thankfully. He’d last the hour.

 _Let’s see,_ he thought, _what techniques do I have so that I can cheat? Nothing wind-natured, obviously, though maybe I can blow somebody’s test away from them and just_ happen _to look at it..? There’s a thought. Low-key Air Bullet. What else… my Rinnegan’s shared vision with the clones would be perfect, but I’d have to summon a clone and henge it and not get caught. I can summon a Shadow Clone without chakra smoke, but henging it would be noticed. Still, if it counts as getting caught once… I’ll leave that as a last resort._

Naruto glanced up at the clock – fifteen minutes had gone by since the exam started.

 _Time’s running out,_ he thought, rubbing his forehead and adjusting his forehead protector. His gaze wandered around the classroom, pretending to be unconcerned. That’s when he saw it. _Are… are those mirrors on that lamp?_ he thought. The mirrors were hanging from the ceiling, four of them surrounding the lamp. A glance around revealed that all the lamps were like that as well. _Who the hell…? Well, not my problem, but definitely my solution!_

He took off his forehead protector, putting it on the desk in front of him. He adjusted the reflective panel on it with the leaf’s insignia on it, moving it around until he had the mirror reflected on the panel. Not much detail, but he’d take what he could get. He then put down his pencil, opened his palm, and, pretending to just lean forwards on his right arm, pointed his palm towards the mirror.

“ _Chakra Push_ ,” he whispered, sending a _tiny_ tendril of chakra into the technique. Unfortunately, it was still too much – the mirror responded, pushed away on its hinges and hitting the light it was covering, the force dislodging the mirror from the ceiling. It fell and landed on the desk of the genin sitting below it with a loud crash.

“Oops,” Naruto muttered as the genin yelled in fright. That’s when he realized – the attention of the sentinels was on the broken mirror and the genin! His hands switched to the clone seal under the desk. “ _Shadow Clone Jutsu!_ ” The clone blurred into existence right next to him, and the next moment, it henged with a poof of smoke. Naruto groaned, leaning forwards until his forehead touched the desk – the clone had henged itself into a small bird, and the shared vision was disorienting with how it flew off and out the window.

It almost didn’t make it out, since a Kunai embedded itself on the sill of the window it just exited.

“Mirror must’ve been broken by that bird,” said the sentinel that threw the knife. “When the hell did it get in?”

“Who cares,” said Ibiki, “everyone back to their tests!” His eyes landed on Naruto speculatively. _You’re good, kid,_ he thought, _that was smooth. Almost got caught, but it was smooth. I wonder if you’re responsible for breaking the mirror…_

As time went by, genin were caught and failed. Konoha, Suna, Taki, and Ame Shinobi were lead out, but surprisingly the genin from Oto, Kumo, and Iwa hadn’t even been caught once. The Konoha Rookie Nine were safe as well, as were the Desert Siblings. Fu’s group was fine as well, the hidden jōnin having found the answers on their own with Fu faring for herself.

Meanwhile, Naruto had his eyes closed as he concentrated. After dispelling its bird henge, the clone had written down the questions for the exam and had rushed to the library in search of the answers. Luckily, an aide had spotted the clone’s plight and began to help out by _solving the questions for it!_

 _Score!_ Thought Naruto, the blonde opening his eyes and sitting back up. He picked up his pencil and began to write exactly as he was watching the aide do it through his clone’s eyes. He smirked confidently. Next to him, Hinata’s Byakugan flared to life, and she copied his answers as well.

In the end, it took the rest of the allotted forty-five minutes for Naruto to finish copying the answers from his clone. As the clone thanked the aide for their help, Naruto looked down at his test and smiled – he’d successfully answered the entire exam correctly, and all that was left was to wait for the tenth question. As he’d been doing this, he imagined how Sasuke would copy from others – probably by using his Sharingan to copy the movements of someone’s pencil or something. Sakura, he knew, would actually plow through the exam – she was super-smart like that.

Naruto glanced around – the room had been emptied out heavily. He hadn’t been keeping good count, but at least fifteen teams, forty-five people, had been eliminated through cheating, including the genin he’d accidentally dropped the mirror on (apparently he’d glanced at his neighbor with a hopeful eye one too many times).

“Alright, listen up!” yelled Ibiki suddenly, catching everyone’s attention. “There’s only fifteen minutes left, and it’s time for the Tenth Question!”

Naruto gripped his pencil nervously, his clone still on standby to transmit. _Here we go,_ he thought, _this is it. I finish this and I’m done with this thing!_

Ibiki spoke up again, “However, there are a few more rules you need to be aware of.”

Just then, the door to the classroom opened. Naruto chanced a glance behind him and saw that it was Kankuro of the Desert, on return from going to the bathroom.

“Ah…” said Ibiki, a cruel smile on his face. “You’re just in time. I hope you found your trip to the bathroom… _enlightening._ ”

Naruto noticed how a bead of sweat dripped down Kankuro’s face. _Whatever he did, he got busted,_ thought Naruto. _This Ibiki… I think he’s mom’s boss. He’s tough._

Ibiki kept looking at Kankuro. “Well?” he asked. “Take your seat.” Kankuro couldn’t move fast enough, and Naruto returned his attention back to Ibiki. “Now,” continued the scarred jōnin, “these rules are unique to question ten, so listen carefully… and try not to let them frighten you.”

 _Frighten?_ thought Naruto, _How does a rule frighten someone?_

“So, Rule Number One: Each of you is free to choose to take or not to take the final question,” said Ibiki.

“Whoa, so what’s the catch?” yelled a familiar-sounding voice – Temari of the Desert. “What if we choose to not take the question?”

Ibiki smiled coldly. “The catch is that if you decide to not take the question, regardless of your answers on the other nine, you will get a zero.” Ibiki’s smile became a tad colder. “In other words, that means you fail, and that your teammates fail as well.”

The genin began to mutter, with a general ascent that if that was the outcome of not taking the question, then of course they’d take the question.

“Not so fast,” said Ibiki, “you didn’t let me finish.”

 _More rules?_ Naruto groaned. _Seriously, enough already!_

“If you do take the question, but answer it incorrectly, you will not only fail…” Ibiki raised his voice, “You will be barred from taking the Chūnin Exam ever again!”

“Hey, that’s bull!” yelled Kiba Inuzuka. “What kind of a rule is that!? There are plenty of people who have taken the Chūnin Exam before!”

It took a moment, but Ibiki eventually answered. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in a way that the genin appreciated, unless they were fans of laughs made by Heads of Torture and Interrogation. It was dark, cruel, and it made every single person in the room remain silent.

“I guess,” said Ibiki once his laughter died out, “you’re just unlucky that I’m making the rules this time around. But don’t worry – like I said, if you aren’t confident in your ability to answer the tenth question, you can leave.” Ibiki turned towards the window, his eyes on the tree outside but his voice directed at them, as if he didn’t care about them anyways. “By all means – skip the question if you like.” He laughed again.

Behind Naruto, Sakura’s thoughts were a whirlwind. _Great,_ she was thinking, _thanks a lot. If any one of us chooses to skip it, we fail. Obviously, that’s not going to happen, but on the other hand we only get one shot, and if we fail we never get another chance. Either way, it stinks._ She glanced up at Naruto. _Well, I’ll stand by my team, as I always have and as they’ve been standing with me. We go out together, or we stand together._

“Now then,” said Ibiki after a few more moments of silence, “if you’re ready, here’s the Tenth Question. Those who choose to take it may stay. The rest of you, raise your hand; your number will be recorded and you and your teammates may leave.”

Despite his confident visage, Naruto’s thoughts were not as confident. _Damn,_ he thought, _that’s a really tough decision. What if the question’s easy? What if it isn’t?_

**Don’t focus on the question itself, Naruto. Focus on the stakes.**

Naruto blinked in surprise. _Focus on the stakes…_

On Naruto’s left, the genin right next to him dropped his pencil and raised his hand. “I… I’m out,” said the unknown genin. “I’m sorry, I can’t handle it. I’m out.”

“Number Fifty, Fail!” said a Sentinel. “Number One-Thirty, Number One-Ten, that means you’re out too.”

And then, it was as if the floodgates opened. Naruto’s eyes widened as he saw genin after genin raise their hands, their numbers recorded and their teammates failed as well. Naruto looked around, incredulous all of a sudden as he tried to find if any of his friends were of the same mindset. The rookie nine were safe, he realized – though some of them looked uncomfortably close to giving up, they hadn’t raised their hands yet.

His eyes landed on a green-haired genin whose expression betrayed her thoughts.

 _Fu…_ Naruto thought, _no, come on! You can’t give up! You can’t be thinking about it!_

The girl was sitting two rows to the right, on the line of desks behind him. She was lost in her thoughts, worrying at her lip and clenching and unclenching her hands in front of her. She would periodically glance up at Ibiki, as if about to speak up, but look back down at the desk, her expression more troubled than the last.

 _No, come on, Fu!_ Naruto’s thoughts were desperate. _You’ve gotten this far! You’ve made it here, to Konoha! You didn’t make this trip just to give up! Come on, look at me!_

But she didn’t. Naruto was almost about to panic – while he really didn’t understand why he was so desperate for Fu, he rationalized it by thinking that the motivation didn’t matter, only the result.

So when Fu’s hand twitched as it began to rise, Naruto stood up and glared at Ibiki. His fist hit the desk in front of him, and leaned on it, emphasizing his point.

“So is that it!?” he yelled at Ibiki, whose stoic expression didn’t change. “You just tell us what to do and we’re supposed to take it!? You think we can’t handle the pressure!? Well don’t underestimate us! We’re ninja, we’re Shinobi, we don’t back down and we don’t run away! So what if we fail!? So what if we’re stuck as genin for the rest of our lives!? We’re still here! We still made our choice! And that’s what matters! We live with our choices, and that’s all that’s important!” His glare intensified, but again, Ibiki wasn’t ruffled. “Being chūnin isn’t that big a deal in the grand scope of things, there are other ways of becoming chūnin! But as long as I chose to take this stupid question and play your stupid game, and I fail anyways, then I’m glad, because at least I had the _balls to risk it all!”_

Breathing heavily, he sat down, his expression defiant. Inside his head, his tenant chuckled. Hinata, sitting next to him, was smiling at him with undisguised awe. A few rows away, Fu stared at him, shook her head, and grinned confidently.

And no one else in the room raised their hand.

Ibiki kept staring at Naruto. “This decision could change your life,” he said. “If for any reason you wish to quit, now’s your chance.”

Still, not a single person raised their hand. Naruto grinned, meeting Ibiki’s gaze challengingly. “No way, I never back down,” he said. “Because that’s the way of the ninja.”

Ibiki looked around at the room’s occupants, judging the mood in the room. Everyone was either looked at Naruto in awe or surprise, or they were smiling confidently, or they simply relaxed. Either way, no one was giving up today.

 _Remarkable,_ thought Ibiki. _He’s given them the courage to keep going. Seventy-Two candidates left… a lot more than I expected. But no one’s wavering in their decision… I think that’s it._

“Well then,” he said, “I admire your determination, at the very least. If there’s no one else, for those of you remaining there’s only one thing left to do. And that’s for me to tell you…”

Ibiki smiled, truly, truly smiled. “That you’ve all passed the first exam. Congratulations.”

A beat of silence, during which Naruto absently noted that his clone popped itself out of sheer surprise as his Rinnegan deactivated, startling the poor library aide who’d been helping the clone. Then-

“Whoa, whoa!” Sakura stood up in her surprise. “What the hell? What just happened? What do you mean we passed? What about the tenth question?”

Ibiki’s grin became a tad mischievous. “Well, to be honest there wasn’t one, at least not a written one!” he said. “Actually, your decision to stay was the answer to the tenth question!”

Sakura gave an ‘oh!’ of understanding.

“So the nine other questions were a waste of time?” asked Temari.

“No, no, on the contrary,” said Ibiki. “The first nine questions had an important objective – to measure your ability to surreptitiously gather strategic information under the most adverse circumstances.”

Temari blinked. “Well… that clears up everything,” she said sarcastically.

“Let me explain,” said Ibiki. “My objective was to test how well you could gather information as a team, and individually as a part of that team. That’s why the test was scored on a Team Basis, so that you’d know that everything you did, or failed to do, would affect you teammates as well. I wanted to see how you’d handle that pressure.

“The first nine questions on the test were difficult; in fact, as you may have realized, they were _too_ difficult for any genin to be expected to solve. I imagine that most of you quickly came to that conclusion, that you’d have to cheat in order to have any chance of passing. The fact is, the test was designed to encourage cheating, almost demanded it. Of course it would have done you little good if you didn’t have someone to cheat from, so I had two chūnin who knew the answers disguise themselves and had them sit in with you.”

It came to no surprise to Naruto that the guy in front of him stood up then, smiling ruefully at the genin around him. Naruto couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so funny?” asked Hinata.

“Nothing,” he said, “it’s just… I _knew_ that this guy had the answers, but I couldn’t actually _see_ them. I had to find another way to cheat.”

Hinata giggled. The chūnin in question turned around and looked at Naruto with a grin.

Ibiki continued to speak. “So, those who were caught cheating were failed,” he said, beginning to remove the bandana forehead protector that covered the back of his head. “Better not to cheat, than to cheat clumsily.” The bandana came off, revealing a head littered with scars, burn marks, and puncture wounds all over the place.

“Information,” said Ibiki. “It can be the most valuable weapon on the battlefield. How well you can retrieve and collect information can determine whether a mission will be a success or a failure. There’ll be times you have to risk your life to get it.” He began to cover his again with the bandana. “Of course, you must always consider the source of your information. Intelligence gathered from an enemy is not necessarily accurate. Always bear this in mind: Disinformation can be worse than no information at all. It can lead to the death of comrades, or to the loss of a village. That’s why I put you in a position where you had to gather accurate intelligence. Cheat, in order to survive, and that’s why those who were bad at it were weeded out, leaving the rest of you.”

“Okay,” allowed Temari, “but I’m still not clear as to the point of the Tenth Question.”

“You’re not?” Ibiki repeated. “But that was the whole point of the exam! Surely you see that!” He glanced around the room once before sighing exasperatedly. “Number fifty-three,” he said, nodding at Naruto, “tell me you got it.”

Naruto took a deep breath. _Think about the stakes,_ Kurama had said. “I think I did,” he said. “You… you wanted to test our determination. You wanted to see if we were willing to risk everything in order to keep on going. You wanted to see if we would take the coward’s way out.”

“ _Exactly,_ ” said Ibiki. “As I said before, the goal was to not only test you as individuals, but as part of a squad. The final question gave you two choices, both difficult.” He held up two fingers. “You could choose to not answer the question, thus failing yourself and your teammates, or you could try and answer it, knowing that if you got it wrong would forever lose any chance of being chūnin.” Ibiki’s hand went back into his coat. “It was a no-win situation, but just the sort chūnin have to face every day.

“For example, let me give you a hypothetical mission: to steal a document from an enemy stronghold,” he said. “You have no idea how many ninja the enemy has, or how heavily armed they are. Furthermore, you have reason to believe that the enemy expects you, that you may well be walking blindly into a trap.” Ibiki looked around. “Now do you have the option to take a pass on this insane mission and say ‘my comrades and I would rather live to fight another day’? Can you choose to avoid danger?”

Naruto smirked, an expression that was unknowingly mirrored by his teammates. _Hell no,_ they thought simultaneously.

“No,” said Ibiki. “There will be many missions that will seem suicidal if you think about it, but you do _not_ think about it, you think only about the goal, of achieving it through courage and discipline. These are the qualities of a chūnin squad leader. Those who choose the safer of two paths, those whose determination falters in the face of adversity, those who would put their comrade’s lives in jeopardy by worrying about their own, those who would save their own necks for the price of sacred honor, will never be able to call themselves chūnin, not while I’m here at least!

“As for the rest of you, you have successfully answered the ten questions I’ve put to you,” he said. “You have earned the right to continue onto the next step. You have passed through the First Gate; I hereby declare this part of the Chūnin Selection Examination, complete. There’s nothing left but to wish you all good luck.”

Naruto grinned and glanced back at his teammates. They smiled back. _Alright,_ he said, _phase one, complete. Now let’s get moving!_

_Crash!_

A massive object broke through the window, and the next thing Naruto knew there was a banner pinned from the ceiling with kunai knives and a familiar person standing in front of it.

“Heads up, boys and girls!” grinned his mother. “This is no time to be celebrating! I’m your proctor for the second part of the test, Anko Mitarashi. You all ready? Good, let’s go!”

No one moved. At least, not until Naruto started to laugh so hard he almost fell off his seat.

Ibiki walked out from behind the canvas (which, for the record, stated “the second examiner, the sexy and single Anko Mitarashi!”) and gave Anko a deadpan look. “You’re early,” he said, “as usual.”

The face on his mother’s expression made Naruto laugh harder.

Anko glanced around at the room, the occupants’ looks going from the laughing Naruto to her. “Ibiki,” she asked, “how many are there? Ibiki, you let all these guys pass? Your test was too easy! You must be getting soft.”

“I blame him,” he said, nodding at the laughing Naruto. “He’s a game-changer that one. Besides, it seems like we have a stronger group of candidates this time around.”

Anko looked at Naruto. A second later there was a knife flying through the air that _just_ managed to nick Naruto’s cheek. The laughter stopped immediately, and the next moment Naruto was back in his seat, sitting up straight with his face pale.

Anko glared. Naruto gulped. “S-sorry for laughing, mom,” he said. A lot of people gasped, most of which were the rest of the rookie nine.

 _Serves him right for laughing at his mother,_ thought Sakura.

 _I can never see her throw those kunai,_ thought Sasuke, _Glad I’m not the target…_

 _Holy crap, Naruto’s mom is hot!_ Thought Kiba.

 _They look nothing alike,_ thought Shikamaru. _I guess Kabuto was right, Naruto’s adopted._

 _Wow, she seemed so nice a week ago,_ thought Fu. _She takes disciplining to a whole new level. I hope she considers me a friend…_

“Well,” said Anko, looking back at Ibiki, “whatever the reason so many people passed, it won’t matter anyways. By the time I’m through, more than half of them will be eliminated.”

“More than half?” asked Ino. “Really?”

Anko smirked at her. “Heh… well, you maggots have had it easy so far, but things are going to be different first thing in the morning. I’ll let your squad leaders know where you’re supposed to meet me. Dismissed.”

**…ooOoo…**

He was on his way from his and Anko’s apartment, a backpack slung over his shoulder when he saw her, walking alone in an empty alley with her eyes boring into the ground.

“Fu! Hey, Fu!”

The mint-haired girl stopped walking and turned around. “Oh, hi Naruto!” she said. “Great speech back there!”

Naruto caught up to the girl, blushing slightly. “Ah, it wasn’t that big a deal,” he said. “I just said what we were all feeling, that’s all.”

“…not all of us, I guess,” muttered Fu. She turned away from him, looking at the ground in embarrassment. “If you hadn’t said that, I’d have given up.”

“I know,” said Naruto. “I saw… actually, that’s why I said that.”

Fu looked back up at him, her expression surprised. “What?” she asked. “What do you mean?”

Naruto smiled at her. “I saw you,” he said. He glanced away, feeling embarrassed for some reason. “I noticed you were having doubts about taking the Tenth Question, and I saw you about to raise your hand… so I stood up. And I said… well, you heard,” he finished.

“You… you did it for me?” she asked. For some reason, her orange-colored eyes were wide. “No one’s ever… done anything like that for me…”

Naruto shrugged. “Get used to it,” he said. “I’m your friend, so it won’t be the first time I’ll do something for you. That’s what friends are for – we stand by each other.”

As he looked at the pretty kunoichi, Naruto understood her awe and confusion – he’d gone through the same emotions when he’d just been adopted by Anko. The fear, the awe, the sheer _wonder_ that someone would go out of their way to help him, let alone _love_ him… he understood. Fu had been alone for a long time, living a life of solitude and loneliness. Sure, Shibuki had taken care of her, having been her teacher and all, but there was still a part of Fu’s heart that was constantly yearning for a friend or family or _anyone_ to be there for her. And unfortunately, there hadn’t.

Until now.

Naruto pretended not to see the girl’s eyes tear up, smiling understandingly at her. “I’ll always stand by you, Fu,” he said. He looked towards the sun setting behind the Hokage monument. “My mom said that because we’re jinchūriki, that because we are human sacrifices that stand against the world, we need to find each other and find people who will stand with us, so that we can all be together when we fall. She said that we _have_ to fall, because that’s the only way we can learn to pick ourselves up.”

Naruto smiled, his gaze on the Fourth Hokage’s visage. “The Yondaime, the Fourth Hokage… he fell in battle against the Nine Tails, but at the same time, he didn’t die in vain. He saved this village because he loved it, because he knew that every time he fell, his village was there to pick him up, and when the village fell, he’d do the same for it. That’s why I want to be Hokage one day – because I know that I can’t stand alone against the world. I get that the village didn’t treat me right when I was younger, but I don’t hate the people here, not at all. I understand why they lashed out – I was their only target, the only person they could focus their grief on. And I get it.

“But that’s why I want to be Hokage,” he said. “Because this village needed someone to pick them up, and I want to be the one to do it. I want everyone to know that I understand their pain, because I felt it exactly the way they did.” He looked at Fu, ignoring her expression and continued speaking, “That’s why I said what I said – because I saw you, I saw how utterly _alone_ you felt and I understood, and I _hated_ the fact that you had to suffer that pain, the same pain I did. I saw you about to give up, and I couldn’t let that happen. Because if I let you give up, then that meant I never helped you pick yourself up.”

“Naruto…” Fu said. “I…” She sniffled, and the next thing he knew his arms were full of crying kunoichi. “T-thank you…” she cried.

Naruto hugged the girl as she cried, thankful that nobody was around to see the poor girl cry. He rubbed her back consolingly as he maneuvered her to one of the cleaner parts of the alley and sat down, bringing her with him so that she was leaning on him as she cried. For him, it was easy to understand why she was crying. After all, he’d done the same thing within the week of moving in with Anko. He’d been seven years old, had just met the woman, and had already spend the entire week sleeping in the (then) nineteen-year-old’s apartment when he went through the whole “Why are you doing so much for me no one’s ever even _cared_ I exist” episode.

So yeah, he got why Fu was crying.

Eventually, the mint-haired jinchūriki calmed down. After one last sniff she leaned back, wiping at her eyes. “T-thanks,” she croaked, her voice still thick from crying.

“Hey, no sweat,” said Naruto. He reached into his bag and pulled out one of his bandage rolls, ripping off a large piece and handing it to her. “Um… pretend it’s a tissue,” he said.

Fu giggled slightly, taking it and blowing her nose. The next ‘tissue’ was used to wipe her eyes. When she was done, she leaned back, still sniffing slightly but looking marginally better than when Naruto found her in the alley. “Thank you,” she said again. “I… I’m sorry you had to…”

“Don’t be,” said Naruto. They didn’t say anything after that, simply content to just sit there and bask in the moment.

About ten minutes passed when Fu broke the silence. “So what’s the bag for?” she asked.

Naruto glanced at it, as if he’d forgotten it was there. “Oh, this,” he said. “I’m spending the night at Sasuke’s and Sakura’s house. Mom’s idea. Team bonding and all… I just think she has a date and doesn’t want to tell me.”

Fu gave him an inquisitive look. “Why wouldn’t she want to tell you?”

“Because the last guy she dated turned out to be a jerk after I made his week hell with a pranking spree,” deadpanned Naruto. “I was nine, and I felt jealous that she was spending time with the guy… anyways, he turned out to be a real piece of crap, just wanted to get into my mom’s pants. He tolerated me for a bit, but when I started pranking him… well, he snapped, said some nasty stuff, and my mom threw him out on the street.”

“Wow,” said Fu. “And you were just jealous?”

Naruto gave her an embarrassed grin. “Yeah,” he said. “Honestly I didn’t like him, but it was because I was jealous. I mean, I was right to not like him, just not for the right reasons.” He shrugged. “Either way, every time she goes out with someone – which is rare to be honest – she doesn’t tell me now. She’s been going out a lot recently too…”

Fu giggled. “Jealous?” she teased.

“Kinda,” he admitted. “Honestly, I’m just worried for mom. She’s had bad luck with guys, but if this one turns out to be nice… well, he’ll need the Uzumaki seal of approval first!”

Fu smiled at him. “Aww, that’s so sweet,” she said.

“I guess,” he said. “So… yeah, that’s why I have the bag. Which reminds me, I’m supposed to meet them over at this restaurant Sasuke supposedly owns. Wanna come?”

Fu blinked, surprised. “You… want me to come?” she asked.

“Sure!” Naruto said. He stood up, bag over one shoulder, and extended a hand to her. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”

After a moment, Fu smiled up at him. “Alright,” she said, taking his hand. He pulled her up, accidentally misjudging his strength and pulling her into his chest. “Oh! Sorry,” she said, stepping away with a blush.

“No, no, my bad!” he said, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. “Hehe… shall we?” he asked, motioning to the end of the alley.

“S-sure,” came the answer. Fu’s hand slipped out of his, and they walked out together, their embarrassment forgotten within a few seconds and conversation flowing once more.

**…ooOoo…**

The next day, Naruto, his team and the rest of the candidates were standing in front of a very familiar-looking training ground.

“The Forest of Death,” Sakura whispered. “I’ve wondered if your mom was insane before, Naruto…”

The Uzumaki winced. “Don’t let her hear you say that,” he said, “or she’ll show you just _how_ insane she is!”

“Guys, be quiet,” said Sasuke, peering into the dark forest. “Listen.”

They did. Roars, loud footsteps, and a whole bunch of sounds were emanating from the forest, whose tall thick trees were home to a foliage that let almost no light through. Even as he watched, Naruto could see a massive snake, almost as large as one of his mother’s summons, quickly slither across one of the tree trunks and disappear.

“We are so doomed,” said Naruto.

“You can say that again,” said Sakura.

“We are so doomed.”

“I didn’t mean… ugh, forget it,” said the pinkette.

Sasuke groaned. “Seriously, just calm down you two,” he said. “You’re making _me_ nervous.”

Just then, Team Ten came up to the three. “Hey Naruto,” Shikamaru spoke up, “your mother’s the proctor, anything you can tell us about this place?”

“Nah,” came the answer, “only that there’s a major reason that this place is called the Forest of Death.”

“I figured,” said Shikamaru. “Man, what a drag.”

Team Eight came close. “Oh come on,” said Kiba. “How bad can this place be? So what if it looks scary!” He turned to look at the forest with a confident smirk.

Naruto sighed. “Normally I’d be saying the same thing, but taking into account that my mother’s the proctor…”

“Aww, tell me how you really feel, Naruto.” The adopted Mitarashi froze in surprise as his mother hugged him from behind. Anko grinned. “One would think I abuse you or something!”

“Remind me again what Konohamaru calls you,” grouched Naruto.

“Oh yeah! Crazy snake lady, I remember all right!” Anko laughed. She turned to look at Kiba. “As for you, well you’ll find out why the Forest of Death is named that way. Tough guys like you are the ones that leave their blood all over the place.”

Kiba gave her a cocky grin. “Bring it on,” he said. “I can handle anything!”

“Oh, you’ve done it now,” muttered Naruto. A half-second later, his mother was gone, standing right behind Kiba, who’d gone stiff with shock, considering the fact that the woman had thrown a knife and nicked his cheek _before_ she moved towards him.

“So, tough guy,” Anko whispered, her voice carrying in the silence, “are you tough enough to handle this? You’re not afraid, are you?” She turned Kiba’s head so that his nicked cheek was facing towards her and reached up with her other hand to wipe away the blood.

Suddenly, another knife appeared in her hand and she half-turned around, just in time to see a _tongue_ of all things appear over her shoulder and hand over the knife she’d thrown to bloody Kiba’s cheek.

“I was… just returning your knife,” said the female ninja, dressed in a pale green shirt and dark green pants. There was a straw hat on her head, and it was _her_ tongue handing over the knife, something that was made easy by three facts: she was standing right behind Anko, she was a head taller than Anko, and her tongue (at least right now) was at least two feet long.

“Why thank you, Grass Ninja,” said Anko with a smile. Naruto stiffened, his eyes on the Grass Ninja – he recognized the look in his mother’s eyes. She was wary of this ninja. “You know,” Anko continued as she grabbed her knife from the tongue, “I’d only recommend that you stand this close to me if you want to reach a premature death.”

The tongue retracted. “My pardon,” said the Kusa ninja. “With the sight of blood on your blade slicing through my hair, I’m afraid I became just a little excited. I meant you no harm.”

 _Bullshit,_ thought Naruto, _Mom wouldn’t have moved like that if you meant her no harm. She felt you were dangerous, that’s why she has a knife in her hand._

“Kiba…” said Hinata, worried for her teammate as the Kusa-nin began to walk away.

“Likewise,” said Anko, still looking at the Kusa-nin as she walked away, Kiba peering at the Kusa-nin around Anko’s torso. A moment later, she shook off whatever was haunting her and grinned. “Seems like everyone today is a little quick-tempered. It must be something in the air. This is going to be fun.”

 _Pot, meet kettle,_ thought Naruto, _you’re the one who threw the first knife._

Anko moved back to her spot in front of the genin, Kiba going back to stand with his teammates, his earlier cockiness gone. “Now before we begin this test,” said Anko, “I’m going to have to give you these consent forms.” She held up a stack of papers and tapped them with her free hand. “Before the test, all of you are going to have read over this form and then sign it.”

“What for?” asked a random genin.

Anko smiled. “Some of you may not come back from this test, and I have to get your consent to that risk,” she said. “Otherwise it’d be my responsibility!” She laughed, but no one joined in.

 _Welp,_ thought Naruto, _there goes the family._

Anko kept talking, “Now, I’ll explain what you’ll be doing on this test. Here, pass these out Naruto.” After handing over the stack, she continued. “The first thing you need to know is that this test will tax every one of your survival skills.”

Anko reached into her coat and pulled out a rolled-up map, holding it up so that everyone could see it. “I’ll give you a description of the terrain of the practice field. The forty-fourth battle training zone has forty four chain-locked gates; there are rivers and a forest inside, and in the center, exactly ten kilometers away from every entrance is a locked tower. It’s in this confined area that you’ll undergo the survival test. The test consists of…” She put the map back in her coat and pulled out a couple of scrolls, one black and the other a pale yellow, both tied closed with a white strip of paper. “…an anything goes battle to get your hands on these scrolls.”

“Both of them?” asked Sasuke.

“Yes,” confirmed Anko. “You’ll be fighting to get both a heaven scroll and an earth scroll. Altogether, twenty-six teams will be participating in this phase of the exam, so half of those teams will be going after the heaven scroll, while the other half goes for the earth scroll. I’ll be handing over one scroll to each team, and that’s what you’ll be vying for.”

“Okay, so how do we pass the test?” asked Sasuke.

“Your entire squad must bring both a heaven and an earth scroll to the tower,” answered Anko.

“So that means that at the very best, only thirteen teams will pass this test,” realized Sakura. “Realistically, the amount would be less since the scrolls could be damaged or destroyed in the process. And then there’s the fact that some teams may not even get their hands on the scroll they need to begin with…”

“No one said this would be easy,” said Anko, putting away the scrolls. “Oh, and one more thing: the test has a time limit of five days.”

“Five days out there!?” yelled Ino.

“What are we supposed to eat!?” yelled Choji, his expression desperate.

“Just look around!” answered Anko exasperatedly. “The forest has plenty of things to eat! There’s plenty to feed all of you!”

“Yeah, but…” Kabuto spoke up for the first time, “that’s not all the forest has plenty of. There are man-eating beasts and poisonous plants in there as well.”

“Aww, man!” Choji moaned.

“Quiet down,” said Ino, rather hypocritically in Naruto’s opinion, “this _is_ what they call survival, you know!”

An unknown Hyuuga spoke up then. “That means that with these circumstances,” he said, “there’s no way half the teams will pass this test.”

His teammate, a boy dressed in a green jumpsuit, orange legwarmers and a bowl-like haircut, spoke up as well. “With the days getting longer, the nights are getting shorter,” he said, “so we will have less time to sleep, and less time to recover.” He grinned confidently. “It is a challenge indeed!”

Naruto _swore_ his teeth glinted.

“Completely surrounded by enemies…” said Sasuke, “There won’t be time to rest, we’ll have to sleep in shifts and keep a constant watch.”

“Right,” said Anko. “This test also measures endurance behind enemy lines. This is designed to be a grueling test, and I’m sure some of you won’t be up to the challenge.”

Shikamaru raised his hand. “So um… let’s say mid-exam, can we quit?” he asked.

Anko gave him an incredulous look. “Of course not!” she said. “In the middle of a battle you can’t just raise your hand and say ‘Sorry I quit!’” She paused. “Well I guess you could, but that’s also a surefire way to get yourself killed.”

“Oh just great,” came the answer from the lazy Nara. “This is going to be a drag…”

Anko rolled her eyes. “There are also some ways you can get disqualified,” she said. “The first is simple, if both teams fail to get to the tower with both scrolls within five days.

“Number two: if a team loses a member, or if a member becomes incapacitated and cannot continue.

“But most importantly, none of you, absolutely _none of you_ may look at the contents of these scrolls until you’ve reached the tower.”

Naruto spoke up. “So, let’s say that one of the scrolls falls out of our pocket and it opens and we just happen to read it,” he said. “What happens then?”

Anko raised a finger and pointed it at him. “Let me put it to you this way, young man,” said Anko. “You. Don’t. Want. To. Know.”

Naruto gulped. “Fair enough,” he said.

“There are times when Shinobi are instructed to carry secret documents,” his mother continued. “The scroll rule is to test your integrity. And that’s it, each team take your consent forms and exchange them over there for your scrolls!” She pointed at a small open building that had curtains hiding the booth within where three chūnin awaited. “After that, each team pick a gate and you’ll be let inside.”

There was a beat of silence, and Anko sighed. “Oh, fine,” she said, “there’s one last word of advice I have for you… _Just don’t die!”_

**…ooOoo…**

**_Day One_ **

**…ooOoo…**

The exchange of the forms for their earth scroll was quick, and before Naruto knew it he was standing in front of Gate Seven (ha!) with his teammates, ready to roll. Of course, it was by no coincidence that Anko herself was in charge of this particular gate.

“You guys ready?” asked Naruto, jumping on his heels to warm himself up. He shook his arms, relaxing them and preparing himself, his birth-mother’s clawed gauntlets glinting in the sunlight; his original gauntlets with the blades were sealed away in a storage scroll attached to his belt. He’d also switched out his trench coat for his night ops one, which he now realized looked _exactly_ like Ibiki Morino’s.

“Pumped,” said Sakura, her warhammer on hand. Gripped by the area closest to the maul, the weight was distributed so that she wouldn’t be impaired by it as she ran.

“Remember,” said Sasuke as he examined his sword, looking it over for any nicks or scratches as it shined in the light from its recent oiling, “we won’t know which team has which scroll, or which team member is carrying the scroll.” With a flourish, he sheathed his sword. “Stealing information in this place will really be a matter of life and death.”

“Well it’s just like Ibiki said,” said Naruto, “Everyone is equally determined to pass, and all of them are our enemies.”

“You three are getting it,” Anko spoke up then, drawing the attention of Team Seven. “You’re starting to understand what’s really involved in this test.”

“It’s pretty straightforward, mom,” said Naruto. “We won’t have much of a choice in here – either we understand what we have to do…” he trailed off.

“Naruto,” said Sasuke, “you’ve been inside this forest before, right?”

“Yeah,” said Naruto, glaring at a suddenly-blushing Sakura. “I have. It wasn’t a field trip either.”

“Anything you remember?”

“Only that it’s dark, creepy, and with trees with branches thicker than three guys side-by-side,” said Naruto. “Mom got me out within the hour…”

“You were screaming on your flight in,” deadpanned Anko. “It was impossible not to miss you.” She glanced at her watch and unlocked the gate, the chain keeping the gate closed falling to the ground. “Thirty seconds,” she said.

Naruto grinned. “You ready guys?” he asked.

“Hell yeah!” said Sakura. “Let’s show ‘em what we’re made of!”

“Hmph,” smirked Sasuke.

“Be careful in there, you three,” said Anko. “What out for each other. Stay safe.”

“We will, mom,” said Naruto.

“Alright then,” said Anko, leaning forwards and planting a kiss on Naruto’s forehead. _“Cat says she’ll stay here with me,_ ” she whispered. _“We’ll see you at the tower.”_

Anko stepped back and glanced one more time at her watch – exactly two-thirty. She held a small rectangular device to her mouth and spoke into it, her voice emitted by speakers attached at every gate. _“Alright, heads up you maggots! The second part of the test has begun!”_

The gates opened, and just before Team Seven ran into the darkness, Naruto gave his mother a reassuring look. _Love you_ , he mouthed, and then he and his friends disappeared.

The took off, running on the ground at first before taking to the trees, Naruto’s gauntlets giving him a grip advantage as he ran. He noticed that they left marks on the trees however, so after a few jumps he stopped grabbing onto the trees with his hands and just jumped with his feet.

He activated his eyes and summoned three clones. Immediately his vision expanded and wobbled as the clones kept a constant eye on their surroundings, the shared vision allowing him to assess and intercept any incoming threats while removing any blind spots he may have had.

“Alright,” said Naruto as they ran, “we’ll keep moving for the next few minutes, get deep into the forest and then set up a base camp. Let’s look for a tall tree, something we can trap easily.”

“Or we could stay on the ground,” said Sakura.

“Kabuto said there are man-eating beasts in this forest,” said Sasuke. “I’d rather stay clear of them for as long as we can.”

“I second that,” said Naruto.

“How long do you think until we encounter another squad?” asked Sakura.

“Knowing our luck, less than ten minutes,” said Naruto. Suddenly, his clones’ eyes landed on something interesting. “Heads-up, incoming squad at three o’clock. Oh, the irony…”

“Loving your predictions, Naruto,” said Sasuke. “Time to intercept?”

“Forty seconds,” said Naruto. “We can cross that distance in ten. Take out?”

“Take out,” agreed Sasuke. “Sakura?”

“Let’s do it!” came the answer. Immediately Naruto changed their bearings, heading towards their right and climbing upwards into the trees.

“They’re on the ground,” said Naruto, “so let’s get some more height over them.”

“Got it!”

A few minutes later, they were quietly jumping from branch to branch as they stalked the enemy team of shinobi through the forest, making sure they weren’t heard or seen. Sakura used a low-key genjutsu to mask their approach, cloaking them slightly so that they wouldn’t be noticed. Fortunately, the three genin were dressed for stealth, what with Sakura’s black jacket and pants, Naruto’s trench coat, and Sasuke’s dark ensemble of black pants and dark blue shirt.

Suddenly, the squad of genin they were following stopped moving. Naruto gave a sign, and they began to lower themselves quietly down the branches until they were almost right on top of them.

“…still think we should just set up a trap at the tower,” said one of the genin, a boy dressed in grey fatigues. His forehead protector, tied on his left arm, denoted him and his companions to be the only team from Iwa.

“Yeah,” said another genin, whose bulky body made a stark contrast with his baby face, “these Konoha scum are tree-huggers, remember? They’ll know this forest better than us – we’re at a disadvantage.”

“Shut up you two,” said the only female on the team, “I’m in charge of this mission, and we do what I say! We’re going to keep moving, GOLEM style, until we find another team and we take them out!”

Naruto glanced significantly at his teammates – GOLEMs were the Iwa equivalent of Konoha’s ANBU black ops. He nodded at the girl, signifying his target. Sasuke nodded at the bulky guy, which left Sakura to take on the last member of the team – genin number one, Naruto called him in his head.

“I’m telling you, that won’t work!” said genin number one.

“Yeah!” said Baby Face. “Look, you were right when you said we should stick to the ground instead of the trees, but we’re sitting ducks out here!”

“So what, you got a better idea?” snarled the kunoichi. “Because if not- Watch out!”

 _Whoosh!_ Sasuke’s Great Fireball splashed against the earth harmlessly, but it served Team Seven’s purpose, which was to isolate the three Iwa genin and engage them one on one. Sasuke was the first to engage his target, blurring behind Baby Face and attempting to stab him from behind with his sword, but the Iwa genin managed to half-turn and block the sword with a kunai. When they touched ground, Sasuke was on the move, pressing his advantage and not letting the genin a moment of respite.

Sakura, for her part, charged at her target head-on. The genin number one jumped back with a surprised yelp as Sakura’s overhead blow missed and hit the ground in front of him, causing a small explosion of dirt. She spun, blocking three shuriken with her hammer, and jumped forwards again, attempting to engage the genin in close combat.

“What the hell!?” yelled the Iwa genin as he dodged, “A hammer!? Who uses a freakin’ hammer!? You compensating for your flat chest or something!?”

Sakura saw red. She spun the hammer from the end of its grip, the head hitting the earth and sending dirt into the genin’s eyes. He cried out, instinctively attempting to get the dirt out with his hands, and Sakura took advantage to spin the hammer once more and _slam_ the flat head into the genin’s groin.

The _crack_ of a broken pelvis echoed through the forest. The genin’s mouth was open in a howl of pain when Sakura reversed the inertia of the blow, slamming the spike of her maul into the genin’s skull, pieces of bone, flesh and brains going all over the place.

“Call me flat-chested again,” she snarled at the corpse as it fell face-forward on the ground, the hammer still embedded in its skull. “ _I dare you!_ ”

Meanwhile, Naruto was having a one-on-one fight with the sole kunoichi of the Iwa team. She’d used some kind of jutsu to encase her arms in gauntlets made out of earth, and the two were engaged in a Taijutsu dance where one misstep could cost them their lives. The claws on Naruto’s gauntlets could cut into the earthen gauntlets of the kunoichi, but not enough to actually cause some damage to the girl’s hands or arms.

 _Time to up the ante,_ thought Naruto. When the kunoichi lunged forwards with a punch, Naruto stepped to the left and swung upwards with his left gauntlet, simultaneously channeling chakra into the gauntlet and igniting it in Foxfire.

The claws cut through the entire earth gauntlet like a hot knife through butter, severing the girl’s right arm and cauterizing the wound. The girl gaped at her lost arm, as if surprised at the lack of flesh after her elbow, and Naruto, after cutting off the chakra flow to the gauntlet so that he wouldn’t suffer burns from Foxfire like he did in Wave Country (he still had the scars), capitalized on the moment by slamming his right gauntlet into her chest. She went flying, slamming into a tree and getting knocked out by the impact.

A few seconds later, Sasuke had hamstringed his own target with a fancy move that involved him dodging a blow from Baby Face, spinning under the genin’s arm, and making two cuts on the back of the genin’s legs. Sword extended after making the move, he held the pose for a moment as a screaming Baby Face fell to his knees, his legs suddenly unable to support his weight. Sasuke flourished his sword, the blade singing as it sliced through the air, and once the blood had been flicked off of it he sheathed it once more.

“Target incapacitated,” said Sasuke.

“Target incapacitated,” repeated Naruto.

“Target eliminated,” said Sakura, grabbing her hammer and pulling it out of the dead genin’s skull with a loud _squelch._

“Yeesh,” said Naruto, looking at the corpse. “That was brutal. What’d he do?”

Sakura scowled at him. “You wanna find out?” she asked, fingering her hammer suggestively.

Naruto waved his hands in denial. “No, no, no,” he said, “I’m good, I’m good!”

Sasuke moved over then, dragging his target and dumping him next to the unconscious kunoichi. “Alright,” he said, “let’s wake this one up and get their scroll.”

Naruto reached into his coat, grabbing a bottle of water and opening it, dumping the contents over the kunoichi’s face. She woke up immediately, spluttering and spitting the water out. A few moments later, her eyes widened as she took in the situation – one comrade dead, the other unable to move his legs, her severed arm lying a few feet away from her, and Team Seven standing over her and her comrade.

“Alright,” said Sasuke, his sword in hand and pointed at the kunoichi’s neck, “you’ve lost. Now tell us where your scroll is and we’ll let this one live.” He moved the point of his sword to Baby Face’s neck, who stiffened upon the cold metal touching his skin.

The Kunoichi didn’t answer, her eyes flickering from one genin to the other. After a few moments of silence, she seemed to crumple into her herself. “It… it’s in my shuriken pouch,” she said, and Sasuke removed his sword from Baby Face’s neck, who let out a relieved yet pained breath.

Naruto kneeled and reached out for the pouch tied on the girl’s right leg, cutting through the straps with his claws and ignoring the wide-eyed look on the Kunoichi’s face. He grabbed the pouch and opened it, pulling out the scroll.

“Well,” he said, looking at the earth scroll in his hands with a chagrined expression, “this is awkward.”

Sasuke sighed. “First team we encounter and they have an earth scroll,” he said. “Joy.”

Sakura gave the downed genin a sad glance. “So what do we do with them?” she asked.

“They’re disqualified,” said Sasuke bluntly. “They can’t go on during the test.”

“I know that,” said Sakura. “But what do we _do_ with them? We can’t just leave them here…”

Sakura trailed off. Naruto understood her point – he was loath to leave the two surviving genin here where’d they be easy prey. Even Sasuke looked slightly uncomfortable with the idea – anyone else would think he was uncaring, but Naruto knew his friend well enough to realize the truth.

He looked back at the genin and sighed. Immediately his clones, who’d been keeping watch in case anything ambushed the ambushers, appeared right next to him.

“Take them to the gate we came in through,” he said, deactivating his Rinnegan and losing the shared vision as he summoned another two clones. The clones nodded, two clones picking up the surprised kunoichi, another two picking up Baby Face, and the last clone picking up the corpse of their fallen teammate.

“Wait!” the kunoichi spoke up. The clones stopped, and she looked back at Naruto. “W-why are you doing this?” she asked. “Why not just…?”

“Kill you? Leave you here?” he asked. He shrugged. “Honestly… I don’t know. We’ve killed your teammate and cost you your career. I’m still human, and I still feel guilt.” He winced. “I guess… I’m just trying to make amends. Somehow.”

The kunoichi didn’t answer, simply looking at him. “I don’t hate you,” she said at last, “but… I don’t forgive you. Either way… thanks for letting us live, Namikaze.”

Naruto frowned, confused. “I’m sorry?” he asked.

“Y-you’re his son, right?” she asked, now looking lost herself. “Minato Namikaze’s son? Your fourth Hokage…?”

Naruto threw his head back and laughed. “Well that’s a thought!” he said. “No, no, my last name’s Uzumaki. Naruto Uzumaki.”

“Oh…” she looked away. “I’m sorry. You look a lot like him…” She shook her head, her face pale from the pain of her lost arm. “Anyways, thanks.”

“Anytime,” said a pensive Naruto, and his clones left with the girl and her teammate in tow.

There was a moment of silence. “So…” Sakura sidled up next to Naruto, “should we start calling you Naruto Uzumaki-Mitarashi-Namikaze? Naruzumitanami?”

“What the-?” Naruto turned to look at a giggling Sakura. “What the hell was that?”

“Sakura, please,” said a smirking Sasuke, “you’re embarrassing him. The Legacy of the Fourth might get offended…”

“Shut up,” said Naruto, tossing him the scroll they’d just taken as Sakura’s giggles grew into laughter. Sasuke caught the scroll and pocketed it. “Come on guys, let’s keep moving,” he said. “We’re burning daylight.”

“Sir, yes sir, Namikaze sir!” saluted Sakura, making Naruto groan. And off they went, his teammates still teasing and Naruto still enduring because he knew that if they stopped to think about what they’d just done the guilt would consume them. He knew that if they stopped to think about the fact that they’d _killed_ someone and _ruined_ another’s life for absolutely _no reason_ , they wouldn’t be able to go on and falter whenever the next group of people showed up.

Bad enough that the girl’s blood was still on his trench coat. He didn’t even get her name, not even when the clones dispelled with the news that the surviving Iwa genin had been received by a team of Konoha chūnin and extracted from the forest. He didn’t want her name – he only wanted to forget.

So he did.

**…ooOoo…**

**_Day Two_ **

**…ooOoo…**

They’d found a place to camp on the ground, a hollow made by the gnarled roots of one of the massive trees found deep in the forest of death. Sasuke had estimated that they were at the half-point between the tower and Entrance Gate 7, which meant at least another hour of running full-pelt towards the tower in order to get there.

The bowl-cut genin had been right – there’d been less than eight hours of darkness when the sun had set, but fortunately Naruto’s clones had taken care of them as they’d slept, keeping watch during the night. Sakura too had summoned a few Earth Clones as well, and Sasuke had been in charge of trapping the area so that anyone who’d approach would be noticed no matter what. As such, the next morning they woke up refreshed and ready to go.

“So,” said Naruto as they consumed a measly breakfast of ration bars and water, their supplies already packed, “what’s the game plan now? Do we hunt, or do we trap?”

Sasuke frowned. “Honestly I’m not sure,” he said. “I’m thinking about yesterday… we got lucky with those genin.”

“Lucky that we found them, or lucky that we were able to take their scroll?” asked Sakura.

“Both,” came the answer. “Either way, it was a waste of time. Even with the extra supplies that Naruto kept from the kunoichi’s weapon’s pouch, it wasn’t worth the time we lost.”

The pouch in question had been loaded, to be honest. A dozen shuriken, six kunai knives, and a Demon Wing Shuriken had been stuffed inside the thing.

“Yeah,” Sakura agreed, “but I don’t we wasted time. I mean, we just eliminated another squad from the competition. That’s less work for us.”

“But less work for the rest of the competitors,” said Sasuke. “Either way, we’re short a scroll with an extra of ours.”

“Maybe we can trade it,” suggested Naruto. “What if we come across another one of the genin squads that needs the scroll we have?”

“Doubtful,” said Sasuke. “We’d have to force them to listen to us to start off. People were nervous _before_ they came into the forest – how do you think they’re going to be _inside_ it?”

Naruto winced. “I get it,” he said. “You have a point there.”

“So negotiation is out,” said Sakura. “Unless we can get a team to listen to us, we won’t follow that plan. What about springing the traps of other squads?”

“Explain,” said Sasuke.

Sakura grabbed a stick and drew a large circle between the three genin, putting a small dot in the center. Next she drew a long wavy line from one side of the circle to the other, splitting it into two about three-quarters of the way.

“Okay,” she said, “so the way I see it, most genin groups would move towards the tower as fast as possible,” she drew a bunch of arrows from the outer circle pointed inside at the dot in the center. “Since everyone’s heading in that direction, the closer we get to the tower the more genin we’re liable to encounter.”

“Okay,” said Naruto. “So what’s your plan?”

“I’m getting there,” said Sakura. “Anyways, once the genin get to the tower, they’re going to be stuck since they still don’t have the scroll they need, leaving them with choices – either they double back into the forest in search of a scroll, or they wait for someone to come to them with the scroll they need.”

Naruto grinned in realization. “So you want to spring a trap on the people _waiting_ for us and take their scroll!” he said.

Sasuke hmm’d. “That might work,” he said. “Provided we’re not caught by surprise.” He glanced up at the canopy in thought. “We’ll have to work at night,” he said. “Rest during the day, keep a constant move…”

“Nothing we’re not used to,” Naruto pointed out.

“Right,” said Sasuke. “Then we know what to do. Let’s get out of here for now – we’ve spent too much time here.”

Sakura brushed the dirt, erasing her sketch as they stood back up. “What about the extra scroll?” she asked.

“I’ve got an idea for that,” said Naruto. He bit his right thumb, before his hands went through five seals: Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram. “ _Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!”_ he yelled. He then slammed his open palm on the ground in front of them.

With a poof of smoke, Ikoro the Tigerfox messenger kit appeared. “Master Naruto,” he said. “Such a wonderful place you have summoned me today!”

“Not really, Ikoro,” said Naruto. He held out his hand, and Sasuke placed their extra earth scroll in it. “Ikoro, I need you to hang on to something for me,” said Naruto. He then gave the scroll to Ikoro, who took it in his paws (hands? He _did_ have opposable thumbs).

“I shall treasure it as if it were my own,” said Ikoro. His large ears twitched. “For how long shall this be?”

“Four days at most,” said Naruto. “Just make sure that if I summon you again you have that with you.”

“Very well,” said Ikoro. The tigerfox bowed once, and dispelled, returning back to its realm.

“Well, that’s solved,” said Sakura. “Good idea, Naruto!”

The blonde grinned, only to stiffen. “Guys…” he said, peering into the forest. “Hear that?”

His teammates quieted as they listened.

“The forest…” said Sasuke, “it’s quiet. Too quiet.”

“…something’s coming,” agreed Sakura, her hand reaching behind her back for the handle of her maul.

Naruto activated his Rinnegan, his blue iris’ splitting into two rings as his pupil disappeared. “Guys,” he said, “my clones aren’t seeing anything… we’re alone… but they’re not seeing any animals either.”

Sasuke and Sakura absorbed this information quietly, glancing at each other. “Naruto,” said Sasuke, “I think you’re wrong… we’re not alone.”

“I second that,” said Sakura, drawing her hammer and looking around at the forest nervously.

“Shit!” said Naruto, turning around, “Clone dispelled! Incoming, behind us!”

His teammates turned to face the unknown threat just as a _massive_ gust of chakra-enhanced wind slammed into them, cutting right through the earth and sending trees, dirt and rocks alike flying into the air. The genin were no exception to this and were sent flying as well, though with a cry of “ _Chakra Pull!_ ” Sasuke and Sakura were pulled towards Naruto, grabbing onto him.

“Brace for impact!” yelled Sasuke, Sharingan active as the wind stopped. A split-second later, they hit the ground _hard_ , rolling to minimize the damage of the impact.

“What the fuck was that!?” yelled Naruto as he picked himself up.

“I don’t know,” said Sasuke. He too was quick to stand on his own two feet, helping Sakura to do the same. “You two alright?” he asked.

“Yeah,” said Sakura.

“I’m good,” said Naruto, looking back at the massive trench carved by the technique. “But we’ve got incoming.”

The three genin stood side-by-side-by-side, eyes forward and bodies tense as a familiar-looking shinobi calmly walked out of the darkness of the forest.

The Kusa Kunoichi grinned upon seeing her targets. “Well, well, well,” she said, “look what I just happened to come across.” Her extendable tongue slipped out of her mouth, the appendage licking across lips that were stretched in a hungry grin.

“We’ll have so much fun, don’t you agree?”

**…ooOoo…**

**_Day Two_ **

**…ooOoo…**


End file.
